LIBRARY 

PRiNCETONf  N.  J. 

No.  Shelf,     Sect.G^..,  j,. ^  -^.^. .^. 


No.  Book, 


44^ 


► 


LECTURES 


BIBLICAL   HISTORY 


COMPRISING  THE  LEADING  FACTS 


FROM    THE 


CREATION  TO  THE  DEATH  OF  JOSHUA. 


TO  PROMOTE  AND  FACILITATE  THE  CAREFUL  READING  OF  THE  SACRED 

SCRIPTURES,  AND  ADAPTED  TO  THE  USE  OF  FAMILIES,  BIBLE 

CLASSES,  AND  YOUNG  PEOPLE  GENERALLY. 


By  WILLL-LM  NEILL,  D.  D. 


PUBLISHED  BY 
WILLIA?.I    S.    INI  ART  TEN, 

'jiiLADKLniiA,  37  South  Seventh  St. — New  York,23  Centre  Street. 
1846. 


Entered  according  to  the  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1846,  by 
WILLIAM  S.  MARTI  EN, 

in  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Eastern  District 
of  Pennsylvania. 


CONTENTS, 


LECTURE  I. 

The  Creation  of^the  world 13 

Completed  in  six  days 14 

Mankind — distinguished  by  the  Divine  image,  and  invested 

witii  dominion  over  the  other  creatures 16-1 8 

Marriage  instituted 19 


LECTURE  II. 

The  Garden  of  Eden— its  locality 20 

Description  of— by  Milton 23 

Industry  enjoined 24 

The  Sabbath  instituted 25 

The  Covenant  of  Works 26 

Its  violation,  the  introduction  of  sin,  involving  the  whole  hu- 
man race 27,  28 

Objection  considered 29 


LECTURE  III. 

The  Apostasy — conjectures  about — the  account  of  Moses  the 

most  rational 30,  31 

The  temptation  by  Satan,  in  the  form  of  a  serpent 32-34 

The  heinousness  of  the  first  sin,  and  its  consequences 37,  38 


CONTENTS. 


LECTURE  IV. 

The  offerings  of  Cain  and  Abel— tlieir  occupations  and  char- 

acters, 39-43 

Animal   sacrifices — their  design   to  prefigure    the  death  of 

Christ, 44,  45 

Cain,  a  Deist — Abel's  faith  in  the  Atonement 46,  47 


LECTURE  V. 

Seth's  birth  and  piety — first  visibility  of  the  Church,  in  the 

days  of  Enos — Enoch  translated — Adam  dies 43-55 

Longevity  of  the  Antediluvians 56 


LECTURE  VL 

The  Deluge — the  wickedness  of  men — Noah  prepares  the 
ark — its  dimensions  and  preservation — the  Divine  for- 
bearance— the  universality  of  the  flood 57-Gfi 


LECTURE  Vn. 

The  covenant  with  Noah — his  piety  and  thank-offering — the 
rainbow — a  beautiful  phenomenon,  and  token  for  good  to 
the  world 67-76 


LECTURE  VIII. 

Noah's  prophecy,  death,  and  character — practical  reflections.     77-85 

LECTURE  IX. 

Tower  of  Babel — confusion  of  languages,  and  dispersion  of 

the  people 66-94 

LECTURE  X. 

The  calling  of  Abram — its  design— the  glory  of  God,  and  the 

good  of  Mankind 95-104 


CONTENTS. 


LECTURE  XI. 

The  Abrahamic  covenant — its  nature  and  design — circum- 
cision its  seal lOo-l  12 

LECTURE  Xn. 

Abraham's  faith  tried,  by  the  virtual  sacrifice  of  his  be- 
loved Isaac — a  type  of  the  death  of  Christ — believers 
the  children  of  Abraham 112-120 


LECTURE  XIII. 

Incidents  in  the  life  of  Isaac — the  death  of  his  mother — 
marries  Rebecca,  the  daughter  of  Bethuol — his  con- 
templative habits — blessed  as  his  father  had  been. . . .     121-126 

LECTURE  XIV. 

Life  of  Jacob — his  sin  in  supplanting  Esau,  in  which  he 
was  countenanced  by  his  mother — Providence  vindi- 
cated in  this  matter 130-137 

LECTURE  XV. 

Jacob's  vision  on  his  way  to  Mesopotamia — a  symbol 
of  divine  Providence — his  stay  in  that  country — the 
reconciliation  between  him  and  Esau,  after  many 
years'  separation 138-145 

LECTURE  XVI. 

Joseph  hated,  and  sold  by  his  brethren — his  amiable  spirit 
— his  prophetic  dreams — the  base  conduct  of  his  bre- 
thren      146-156 

LECTURE  XVII. 

Joseph's  elevation  at  the  court  of  Egypt — his  divine  skill 
in  the  interpretation  of  dreams,  gives  him  favour — 
his  wise  counsels,  in  regard  to  the  approaching  fa- 
mine,      156-167 

1*       - 


CONTEXTS. 


LECTURE  XVIII. 

Joseph  makes  himself  known  to  his  brethren,  and  sends 
for  his  father — his  charge  against  his  brethren  for 
stealing  his  cup,  not  justifiable — Judah  pleads  for 
Benjamin's  return, 168-178 

LECTURE  XIX. 

Jacob  and  his  family   go  into  Egypt — settle  in  Goshen, 

and  there  the  Patriarch  dies,  after  blessing  his  sons..  .      180-190 

LECTURE  XX. 

Jacob's  funeral  — Joseph's  filial  affection,  and  peaceful 
death,  after  requesting  that  his  bones  might  be  carried 
into  Canaan 191-200 

LECTURE  XXI. 

The  birth,  and  miraculous  preservation  of  Moses — the 
cruel  edict  of  Pharaoh,  under  which  he  was  born — 
adopted  by  Pharaoh's  daughter — a  special  Providence 
manifested  in  his  case 201-210 

LECTURE    XXII. 

Moses  flees  into  Midian — declining  the  honours  of  an 
earthly  court — attends  the  flocks  of  Jethro  a  prince  of 
Midian 211-217 

LECTURE  XXIII. 

Moses  receives  liis  commission,  at  Iloreb — the  burning 
bush  seen  there,  a  symbol  of  the  Church — receives  a 
token  that  God  will  be  with  him — Aaron  joined  with 
him  in  the  commission 220-228 

LECTURE  XXIV. 

Moses  and  Aaron  proceed  to  execute  their  commission,  for 
the  deliverance  of  their  brethren  from  Egyptian  bon- 
dage— all  obstacles  in  their  way  removed  by  the  power 
of  God 229-238 


CONTENTS. 


LECTURE  XXV. 

The  Passover  instituted — a  type  of  redemption  by  Christ 

— its  analogy  to  the  Lord's  Supper 239-244 

LECTURE  XXVI. 

Various  particulars  connected  with  the  exit  from  Egypt — 
the  Israelites  borrowing  from  the  Egyptians  explained 
— Joseph's  bones  carried  to  Canaan — the  Egyptians 
drowned  in  the  Red  sea 245-253 

LECTURE  XXVII. 

Occurrences  between  the  Red  sea  and  Mount  Sinai — the 
murmuringsof  the  people  rebuked — Moses  intercedes, 
and  is  encouraged,  and  sustained  by  Aaron  and  Hur,     256-263 

LECTURE  XXVIII. 

The  law  given,  and  the  Sinai  Covenant  instituted — three 
kinds  of  laws  given — the  covenant,  its  nature,  and  de- 
sign differing  from  the  Abrahamic 265-274 

LECTURE  XXIX. 

The  tabernacle  erected,  and  the  Jewish  ministry  instituted 

— and  how  it  differs  from  the  Christian  ministry ....     275-283 

LECTURE  XXX. 

Presumption  and  rebellion  punished,  in  the  case  of  Nadab 
and  Abihu — seventy  elders  appointed  to  assist  Moses 
— ten  commissioners  sent  out  to  survey  the  land  of 
Canaan — the  people  discouraged — the  case  of  Korah 
and  his  company 284-292 

LECTURE  XXXI. 

The  brazen  serpent,  a  type  of  Christ — the  fitness  of  the 

type — its  proper  use  and  import — practical  lessons.  .     294-303 


CONTEXTS. 


LECTURE  XXXII. 


The  character  and  prophecy  of  Balaam — his  mysterious 
conduct — the  love  of  gain  his  ruling  passion,  and 
ruin  305-312 


LECTURE  XXXIII. 

The  death  of  Moses,  Aaron,  and  Miriam — Joshua's  desig- 
nation, as  successor  of  Moses,  by  imposition  of  hands.     314-324 


LECTURE  XXXIV. 

The  conquest  of  Canaan,  under  Joshua,  by  divine  au- 
thority— the  fact  unquestionable — the  awful  dispensa- 
tion vindicated — no  justification  of  aggressive  war. .     324-333 

LECTURE  XXXV. 

The  conduct  of  Joshua,  a  fine  example  to  men  in  power — 
his  patriotism,  piety,  excellent  counsels,  and  peace- 
ful death 334-343 


PREFACE. 


The  substance  of  these  Lectures  formed  a  part 
of  the  instructions  given  to  a  Bible  Class, 
which  the  author  had  the  pleasure  of  con- 
ducting, when  minister  of  the  sixth  Pres- 
byterian church,  Philadelphia,  of  which  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  H.  Jones  is  now  pastor.  They 
were  favourably  received,  at  the  time,  and 
deemed  by  some,  worthy  of  preservation  in  a 
form  more  permanent  and  convenient,  than 
that  of  manuscript.  Nor  were  they,  altogether, 
without  effect.  The  class  increased  in  num- 
ber; the  meetings  were  anticipated  with  in- 
terest ;  and  an  unusual  desire  was  manifested, 
to  become  intimately  acquainted  with  the  facts 
and  doctrines  of  the  insjnred  volume.  These 
notes,  with  some  modification,  were  subsequent- 
ly used,  also,  in  a  course  of  Sabbath  evening 
exercises,  delivered  to  the  students  of  Dick- 
inson College,  when  the  author  was  connected 
with  that  institution.  After  lying  by  for  seve- 
ral years,  in  danger  of  becoming  waste-paper, 


10  PREFACE. 

they  are  now  published,  in  the  humble  hope 
that  they  may  be  acceptable  and  useful  to 
those  who  search  the  Scriptures,  that  they  may 
become  wise  unto  salvation,  through  faith  in 
Him,  of  whom  Moses  and  the  Prophets  wrote. 
In  preparing  the  matter  embodied  in  this  lit- 
tle volume,  there  has  been  no  attempt  at  any 
thing  elaborate  or  novel.  The  sole  object  has 
been,  to  present  the  truth  in  simplicity  and 
plainness,  so  that  the  reader  will  find  no  diffi- 
culty in  getting  at  the  meaning.  The  aim, 
throughout,  has  been,  to  combine  exposition 
with  the  suggestion  of  practical  lessons;  to 
elucidate,  where  explanation  seemed  necessa- 
ry, with  as  little  expansion  as  possible ;  not  to 
comment  on  every  thing  that  occurs,  but  to 
explain  and  vindicate  a  few  of  the  most  re- 
markable facts  and  doctrines  exhibited  in  the 
sacred  text;  to  trace  the  early  and  brief  his- 
tory of  the  Church;  to  bring  into  view  her 
form  of  government  and  rites  of  worship ;  to 
notice  the  changes  made  therein,  from  time  to 
time ;  and,  particularly,  to  show  the  faithful- 
ness of  God,  in  fulfilling  to  her  his  promises, 
in  protecting  her,  and  in  augmenting  her  ad- 
vantages, increasing  her  numbers,  and  extend- 
ino-  her  influence  through  successive  genera- 
tions, for  the  accomplishment  of  his  great  and 
gracious  designs  respecting  our  guilty  race. 
The  biography  of  the  Patriarchs  have  not 


PREFACE.  11 

been  given,  except,  in  so  far  as  was  deemed 
necessary  to  -unfold  the  divine  providence,  as 
carrying  into  effect  the  stipulations  of  the 
covenant  with  Abraham  respecting  the  king- 
dom of  our  Lord,  the  seed,  in  which  all  the 
families  of  the  earth  are  to  be  blessed.  Some 
incidental  marks  of  the  divine  origin  and 
authority  of  the  Bible,  have  been  pointed  out, 
in  passing ;  but  for  the  most  part,  the  critical 
or  fastidious  reader  will  find  little  here  to  at- 
tract his  attention.  We  have  written,  mainly, 
for  the  serious  inquirer,  who  is  in  good  earn- 
est, seeking  the  way  of  life,  that  he  may  walk 
therein,  and  find  peace  and  acceptance  with 
God. 

The  work  is  put  forth  with  no  lofty  preten- 
sions, or  sanguine  expectations,  but  as  an 
humble  contribution  to  the  cause  of  revealed 
religion;  as  the  author's  honest  testimony  to 
the  truth  and  excellence  of  the  Bible.  It  is  de- 
signed, chiefly,  for  young  readers,  who  are  be- 
ginning to  ask,  what  is  truth,  and  where  shall 
we  find  it  ?  It  is  intended  to  direct  their  atten- 
tion to  that  blessed  Book,  in  which  they  will 
find  the  maxims  of  unerring  wisdom,  and  the 
words  of  eternal  life.  From  the  moderate  size 
of  the  volume,  as  well  as  from  the  variety  of 
its  contents,  it  may  be  deemed  a  convenient 
manual  for  family  use.  In  meetings  for  social 
worship,  in  the  absence  of  ministers,  a  lecture 


PREFACE. 


may  be  read,  as  a  part  of  the  religious  services. 
And  in  the  Bible  Class,  that  most  important 
institutimi  in  its  hearing  on  the  future  prospects 
of  the  Churchy  it  is  hoped,  that  one  of  these 
short  lectures  may  be  read  to  advantage  when 
deemed  appropriate,  without  interfering  with 
the  appointed  and  usual  exercises. 

In  this  age  of  light  reading,  and  when  books 
are  made,  in  many  instances,  more  for  attrac- 
tion, than  for  the  advancement  of  truth  and 
good  morals,  it  seems  important  that  the  minds 
of  our  children  and  youth  should  be  well  im- 
bued with  the  principles  of  true  religion,  and 
put  on  their  guard  against  the  seductive  influ- 
ence of  that  trashy  and  licentious  literature, 
that  is  constantly  issuing  from  the  press,  and 
solicitinor  their  favourable  res^ard.  That  this 
humble  volume  may  contribute,  in  some  small 
measure,  to  so  great  and  desirable  an  object,  is 
the  fond  hope  and  earnest  prayer  of  the  author. 

Philadelphia,  April,  1846. 


LECTURES  ON  BIBLICAL  HISTORY. 


LECTURE  I. 

THE    CREATION. 

In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heaven  and  the  earth. 
Genesis  i.  1. 

This  portion  of  holy  writ  is  called  Genesis,  becanse 
it  contains  an  account  of  the  origin  of  men  and  things. 
It  stands  first  in  the  Pentateuch,  or  five  books  of 
Moses;  which  he  wrote  towards  the  close  of  his  life, 
under  the  guidance  of  the  Providence  and  Spirit  of 
God. 

When  the  sacred  writings  were  collected  into  one 
volume,  or  roll,  after  the  return  of  the  Jews  from  the 
Babylonian  captivity,  Ezra,  or  some  other  inspired 
writer,  probably,  added  some  small  matters  to  what 
Moses  had  written;  but  that  Moses  was  the  autlior 
of  these  first  five  books  of  the  Bible,  we  have,  at 
least,  as  much  evidence,  as  can  be  produced  that  Ho- 
mer wrote  the  far  famed  IHad  and  Odyssey,  or  that 
Cicero  was  the  author  of  those  eloquent  orations,  and 
other  admired  productions,  which  have  long  been  at- 
tributed to  him.  The  history  comprised  in  the  book 
of  Genesis,  stretches  through  a  period  of  about  2360 
years.  Hence,  it  is  evident,  its  historical  notices  must 
be  very  concise,  and  that  many  events  are  passed 
over  in  silence,  as  not  essential  to  complete  the  design 
of  the  historian.  This  dense  and  comprehensive  bre- 
2 


14  LECTURES    ON   BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

vity,  which  characterizes  the  whole  of  the  inspired 
oracles,  is  a  wise  appointment  of  Providence,  as  it 
keeps  the  Bible  from  swelling  into  an  inconvenient 
size,  and  renders  the  possessing  of  it  more  easy  to 
persons  in  the  iiumblest  walks  of  life. 

The  first  and  greatest  event  recorded  in  the  book 
of  Genesis,  is  the  creation  of  this  world,  with  its  inha- 
bitants, and  those  heavenly  bodies  connected  with 
our  earth,  and,  together  forming  what  is  called  the 
solar  system.  An  evil  spirit,  or  a  fallen  angel,  tempted 
our  first  parents  to  sin;  and  in  the  book  of  Job  it  is 
said,  "the  morning  stars  sang  together,  and  the  sons 
of  God  shouted  for  joy,  when  the  foundations  of  the 
earth  were  laid.''  Hence  we  may  conclude,  that 
angels  existed  before  this  world  was  created;  and 
that  the  Mosaic  account  of  creation  relates  only  to 
this  earth  and  those  planets  with  which  it  is  closely 
connected. 

The  inspired  penman,  as  might  be  expected,  refers 
us  to  God  Almighty,  as  the  creator  and  disposer  of  all 
things.  "  In  the  beginning,  God  created  the  heaven 
and  the  earth.''  And  this  divine  work  of  creation, 
was  progressive.  One  part  succeeded  another  in  beau- 
tiful order,  till  the  whole  was  completed.  The  rough 
materials  were,  at  first,  intermixed.  The  original  ele- 
ments, ^re,  air,  earth  and  ivater,  lay  in  a  confused 
state — called,  by  some  philosophers,  a  state  of  chaos. 
This  may  be  what  Moses  intends  by  the  expression, 
^'and  the  earth  was  without  form  and  void;  and  dark- 
ness was  upon  the  face  of  the  deep." 

On  the  first  day  of  the  creation  week,  the  Spirit  of 
God  moved,  or,  as  the  place  may  be  rendered,  brooded 
on  the  face  of  the  waters,  or  confused  mass,  and  the 
first  effect  was  the  production  of  light,  to  such  a  de- 
gree, probably,  as  to  render  objects  visible.  The  ease 
with  which  this  effect  was  produced,  by  the  Divine 
Architect,  is  expressed  in  language,  as  suhlirne  as  it  is 
concise:  "  God  said  let  there  be  light,  and  there  was 
light."  The  light  was  called  dai/,  and  the  darkness 
nighi. 

On  the  second  day,  a  firmament  was  constituted: 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  15 

By  this  is  meant,  probably  what  is  now  called  at- 
mosphere— that  elastic  fluid,  wliich  encompasses  the 
earth,  extends  from  its  surface  some  tiiirty  or  forty 
miles,  and  which  is  of  sufficient  strength  to  sustain 
vapour  and  clouds;  those  waters,  in  the  vapour  form, 
which  are  said  to  be  above  the  firmament,  or  expanse, 
whence  tlie  rain  distils  to  refresh  the  animal  and  vege- 
table kingdoms. 

On  the  third  day,  the  waters  on  the  surface  of  the 
earth  were  drained  oft',  and  confined  within  their  des- 
tined limits.  Hence  originated  the  numerous  seas, 
rivers,  and  rivulets,  which  diversify  the  face  of  the 
globe,  and  conduce  largely  to  the  comfort  and  conve- 
nience of  both  man  and  beast.  The  land,  thus  pre- 
pared, was  stocked  with  grass,  trees,  and  fruits;  and 
we  must  suppose  these  were  produced  at  once,  in  a 
state  of  maturity,  otherwise  the  animal  race,  which 
were  brought  into  being  within  a  short  space  of  time, 
would  have  been  destitute  of  food. 

On  the  fourth  day,  lights  were  planted  in  the  firma- 
ment, or  expanse.  Two  great  lights  are  spoken  of, 
diff'ering,  however,  in  size  and  splendour.  By  the 
greater  of  the  two,  which  was  destined  to  rule  the 
day,  the  sun  is  supposed  to  be  intended;  and  by  the 
less,  the  empress  of  night,  the  moon,  is  doubtless 
meant.  Astronomy  teaches  us  that  the  moon  is  an 
opaque  body,  or  only  a  reflector  of  the  sun's  light; 
and  it  has  been  more  than  insinuated,  that  the  sacred 
historian  speaks  incorrectly,  when  he  calls  her  a  light. 
Moses  undoubtedly  had  some  knowledge  of  astrono- 
my, for  he  was  well  versed  in  the  learning  of  Egypt; 
but  as  he  was  writing  a  plain  narrative,  intended  for 
the  use  of  mankind  generally,  he  deemed  it  proper  to 
represent  things  of  this  sort  according  to  their  appear- 
ance, and  to  adapt  his  style  to  the  capacity  of  the  illi- 
terate, leaving  the  learned  to  make  their  own  com- 
ment on  his  simple^  unvarnished  text.  And  in  so 
doing,  we  think  he  did  wisely.  All  that  is  said  of  the 
other  heavenly  bodies  is  expressed  in  three  words, 
"The  stars  also!''  Another  instance  of  unrivalled 
sublimity  in  sentiment,  where  a  stupendous  efl^ect  is 


16  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

produced  witli  a  facility  wliich  bespeaks  Omnipo- 
tence, as  the  elBcient  cause.  By  the  stars  are  proba- 
bly meant,  not  only  the  fixed  stars,  which  are  innu- 
merable, and  of  immense  magnitude,  but,  also,  the 
primary  planets  with  their  respective  satellites.  It  is 
not  afiirmed,  in  the  Mosaic  history,  that  these  great 
and  uumerous  bodies  were  made  merely  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  this  earth.  They  may  have  been 
created  simultaneously  with  our  globe,  may  be  con- 
nected with  it,  and  prove  a  convenience  to  it,  in  more 
ways  than  one,  and  yet  be  inhabited  by  intelligent 
beings,  and  answer  ends  in  the  kindom  of  Jehovah, 
far  above  our  conceptions. 

On  the  fifth  day,  fowls  and  fishes  were  made; — 
"the  great  whales,  with  every  living  thing,  that  inha- 
bits the  water,  and  every  winged  fowl  and  its  kind.'^ 
It  is  remarkable  that  the  short  narrative  of  Moses 
leads  us  to  think  that  these  two  kinds  of  animals  were 
formed  of  the  same  sort  of  matter.  And  this  opinion 
is  rendered  highly  probable,  by  the  striking  similarity 
observable  in  their  flesh,  and  particularly  in  their  cor- 
poreal organs  and  mode  of  travelling  in  their  respec- 
tive elements. 

On  the  sixth  day,  land  animals,  and  the  human  spe- 
cies were  created.  Of  inferior  animals,  three  classes 
are  mentioned,  viz.,  beasts,  cattle,  and  creeping  thing, 
i.  e.  wild  and  intractable  creatures  of  the  forest; — 
domestic  creatures  which  subserve  the  interests  and 
convenience  of  the  human  race;  and  all  manner  of 
serpents  and  reptiles.  And  last  of  all,  man  was  form- 
ed, and  introduced  into  the  world  as  a  prince  into 
a  palace  richly  furnished  for  his  reception.  "And  God 
said,  let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  after  our  like- 
ness; and  let  him  have  dominion,"  &c.  Three  things 
are  noticeable  in  this  passage,  as  conveying  an  exalt- 
ed idea  of  the  dignity  and  superiority  of  the  human 
kind  over  all  other  orders  of  animated  nature.  First, 
the  language  is  that  of  consultation:  "Ze/  us  make 
man:^'  indicating  the  importance  of  the  work,  or  of 
the  creature  to  be  formed.  But  with  whom  does  the 
Creator  consult  on  this  occasion?     With  the  angels, 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  17 

say  the  modem  Jewish  rabhis.  Not  so,  we  think. 
Creation  is  a  divine  work;  the  exclusive  work  of  Je- 
hovah alone.  And  to  suppose  him  to  ask  the  counsel 
or  aid  of  any  of  his  creatures,  is  a  reflection  on  the 
majesty  of  his  character,  and  the  self-sufliciency  of  his 
power.  Besides  this  notion  does  not  accord  well  with 
what  follows:  "So  God  created  man  in  his  own  im- 
age," not  in  imitation  of  an  original,  compounded  of 
the  divine  and  the  angelic  natures,  but,  ^-in  the  image 
of  God  alone,  created  he  him."  Some  critics  say  this 
language  is  employed  in  compliance  with  the  usual 
style  of  earthly  potentates,  who,  in  their  public  edicts, 
are  wont  to  use  the  plural,  we,  us,  and  our,  instead  of 
the  singular.  But  it  should  be  recollected  that,  as  yet 
there  were  no  earLlily  princes  in  existence,  and  there- 
fore the  phraseology  cannot  have  been  borrowed  from 
any  human  usage.  From  these  and  the  like  conside- 
rations, most  Christian  expositors  suppose  that  the 
expression  "let  us  make  man  in  our  image,"  implies 
and  indicates  a  plurality  of  persons  in  the  divine 
essence  or  adorable  Godhead;  and  that  it  is  intended 
to  teach  us  that  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  co- 
operated in  man's  creation,  as  each  executes  his  ap- 
propriate office  and  concurrent  part  in  the  scheme  of 
our  redemption.  And  this  opinion  is,  we  think,  cor- 
rect; though  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  does  not  de- 
pend on  this,  or  on  the  many  similar  passages  to  be 
found  in  the  Old  Testament;  for  it  is  taught  by  the 
Saviour  and  his  apostles,  in  the  clearest  manner,  and 
in  the  most  express  terms  that  language  can  supply. 

Secondly,  the  superiority  of  man  above  other  ani- 
mals, is  taught  by  the  right  given  him  by  the  Creator, 
to  exercise  dominion  over  them.  Man  is  qualified, 
by  the  endowment  of  reason,  to  subdue,  or  govern  the 
ferocious  and  the  strong  of  the  animal  tribes.  But 
the  fear  of  him  is  impressed  on  the  instinctive  princi- 
ple of  every  living  thing.  Hence  it  is,  that  a  boy 
can  drive  the  horned  ox,  and  govern  the  war-horse. 
Hence  it  is,  too,  that  the  human  "face  sublime," 
strikes  terror  to  the  heart  of  the  lion,  the  tiger,  and 
the  bear.  There  is,  in  fact,  no  tribe  in  the  animal 
2* 


18  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

kingdom,  however  fierce  and  powerful,  that  man  can- 
not extirpate  or  subjugate  to  his  use  and  pleasure. 
But,  thirdly,  that  which  gave  man  the  pre-eminence 
in  this  lower  world,  was  the  image  of  his  Maker, 
which  he  bore  in  his  original  state.  As  God  is  a  spirit 
without  parts  or  bodily  shape,  it  is  plain  this  image 
must  have  been  of  a  moral  nature.  It  is  to  be  found 
in  the  qualities  and  character  of  his  mind,  which  were 
depraved  by  the  fall,  and  which  it  is  the  grand  aim  of 
the  Christian  religion  to  restore  and  secure  to  him  by 
an  immutable  covenant,  through  Christ  Jesus  the 
Mediator.  Two  short  verses  in  the  writings  of  Paul 
the  apostle,  shows  us  what  these  qualities  are:  "  That 
ye  put  on  the  new  man,  which,  after  God,  is  created 
in  righteousness  and  true  holiness:^^  and,  again,  "Ye 
have  put  on  the  new  man,  which  is  renewed  in 
knowledge,  B.fier  the  image  of  Him  that  created  him." 
Ephes.  iv.  24.  Col.  iii.  10.  Here  we  learn  that  the 
leading  and  prominent  features  of  the  new  man,  in 
Christ,  are  knowledge^  righteousness,  and  true  holi- 
ness. And  in  these,  chiefly,  consisted  the  image  and 
likeness  of  God,  in  which  Adam  came  from  the  hand 
of  his  Creator.  His  knowledge  was  intuitive,  rather 
than  the  result  of  the  deductions  of  reasoning;  he 
was  made  a  philosopher,  both  natural  and  moral — 
the  law  of  God  was  impressed  on  his  heart — he  un- 
derstood his  duty,  and  acknowledged  his  obligations 
to  the  Father  of  spirits — his  judgment  was  sound — 
his  \vill  submissive  to  the  rule  of  duty — and  his  affec- 
tions pure,  ardent,  and  elevated,  as  an  angel  of  light. 
And  thus  constituted,  he  niust  have  enjoyed  as  large 
a  share  of  happiness  as  his  nature,  in  that  stage  of  his 
existence,  would  permit. 

In  this  short  account  of  man's  creation,  ihQ  fe^nale 
sex  is  doubtless  included. 

The  circumstances  of  the  woman's  formation  are 
detailed  in  the  2d  chapter  at  the  21st  verse.  And  from 
not  being  introduced  in  form,  as  a  part  of  the  work 
of  the  sixth  day  of  the  creation  week,  some  have  con- 
jectured that  Eve  was  not  made  till  some  time  after 
Adam.     But  let  it  be  observed,  that  Moses,  in  this 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  19 

first  chapter  gives  a  succinct  account  of  a  great  and 
extensive  work.  In  (he  next  chapter  he  resumes  the 
subject,  mingling  a  few  explanatory  remarks  with 
other  original  matter.  Hence  we  are  (old  in  the  2d 
chapter  7th  verse,  that  "The  Lord  God  formed  man  of 
the  dust  of  the  ground,  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils 
the  breath  of  life,  and  man  became  a  Hving  soul;" 
and  again,  at  the  21st  verse,  after  several  intervening 
subjects,  we  have  the  particulars  of  the  woman's 
creation.  But  the  fact  of  her  creation  on  the  sixth 
day,  is  expressly  stated  in  the  27th  verse  of  the  first 
chapter:  '■'Male  and  female  created  he  them."  They 
were  both  endued  with  the  same  intellectual  powers — 
formed  alike  in  the  image  of  God,  and  destined  to  the 
same  high  and  holy  ends  in  the  great  kingdom  of  Je- 
hovah. Thus  the  woman  was  an  help  mee/,  or  suit- 
able companion  for  the  man  ;  and  he  was  taught  by 
the  circumstances  of  her  formation,  to  regard  her  with 
tenderness  and  respect,  as  bone  of  his  bone  and  flesh 
of  his  flesh.  And  in  this  state  of  holy  wedlock,  God 
blessed  them,  giving  them  dominion  over  the  crea- 
tures, and  the  free  use  of  the  vegetable  produce  of 
the  earth;  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  they  were 
allowed  the  use  of  animal  food.  "And  God  saw 
every  thing  that  he  had  made;  and,  behold,  it  was 
very  good:  and  the  evening  and  the  morning  was  the 
sixth  day." 

Such  is  the  account  which  the  Bible  gives  of  the 
origin  of  this  world,  with  its  inhabitants,  its  diversi- 
fied beauties,  and  rich  accommodations  for  man  and 
beast.  How  indubitable  the  claims  of  this  sacred 
book  to  be  treated  with  reverence,  and  to  be  studied 
with  care!  Besides,  that  it  sets  before  us  the  law  of 
our  duty,  and  reveals  the  only  way  of  salvation  for 
fallen  man,  its  historical  mailer  is  more  extensive, 
and  more  interesting  than  that  of  any  other  record  in 
existence.  Here  we  learn,  that  the  earth  and  its  ful- 
ness came  from  the  hand  of  an  Almighty  Creator, 
whose  holy  providence  governs  the  creatures  of  his 
power,  and  causes  them  all  to  praise  him.  The  Bible 
is,  in  fact,  the  only  authentic  source,  from  which  we 


20  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

can  derive  an  acquaintance  with  the  principles  of 
true  religion,  the  elements  of  ancient  history,  tiie  im- 
mortal destination  of  the  human  species,  and  the  im- 
mense consequences  of  the  part  which  we  act,  and 
the  character  we  form  during  our  stay  in  the  present 
life.  Of  what  vast  importance  it  is,  then,  that  we 
search  the  Scriptures!  "The  testimony  of  the  Lord 
is  sure,  making  wise  the  simple:  the  statutes  of  the 
Lord  are  right,  rejoicing  the  heart:  the  commandment 
of  the  Lord  is  pure,  enlightening  the  eyes:  the  judg- 
ments of  the  Lord  are  true  and  righteous  altogether: 
more  to  he  desired  are  they  than  gold,  yea,  than  much 
fine  gold ;  sweeter,  also,  than  honey,  and  the  honey- 
comb.'^ 


LECTURE  IL 


THE  GARDEN  OF  EDEN-COVENANT  OF  WORKS,  Sec. 

And  the  Lord  God  took  the  man,  and  put  him  into  the  garden  of 
Eden,  to  dress  it,  and  to  keep  it.  And  the  Lord  God  commanded 
the  man,  saying.  Of  every  tree  of  the  garden  thou  may  est  freely 
eat;  but  of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  thou  shalt 
not  eat  of  it :  for  in  the  day  liiat  thou  eatest  tiiereof  thou  shall 
surely  die.— Gen.  ii.  15-17. 

In  a  preceding  lecture,  our  attention  was  directed 
to  the  creation  of  the  world,  with  its  inhabitants  and 
various  productions.  We  have  seen  our  own  species 
eminently  distinguished  in  the  scale  of  creatures — 
made  but  a  little  lower  than  the  angels — formed  after 
the  image  of  God,  in  knowledge,  righteousness,  and 
true  holiness — united,  male  and  female,  by  the  tender 
ties  of  conjugal  affection,  and  invested  with  dominion 
over  the  numerous  tribes  of  inferior  creatures  that 
inhabit  the  land,  the  sea,  and  the  air.  We  will  now 
contemplate  this  happy  couple,  as  the  objects  of  hea- 
ven's special  regard,  as  the  primitive  parents  of  man- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  21 

kind,  and  as  constituting  one  of  the  parties  to  the 
covenant  which  God  condescended  to  form  with  the 
human  family,  then  existing  in,  and  represented  by 
them. 

Our  readers  will  recollect  what  was  stated  in  our 
first  lecture — that  Eve  was  made  on  the  same  day 
with  Adam,  i.  e.  on  the  sixth  day  of  the  creation 
week,  (as  is  evident,  chap.  i.  17,  "male  and  female 
created  he  them,)  though  the  particular  circumstances 
of  her  creation,  for  reasons  already  mentioned,  are  not 
to  be  met  with  in  the  narrative  of  Moses,  earlier  than 
the  twenty-first  verse  of  this  second  chapter.  They 
are  both,  therefore,  to  be  considered  as  present,  and 
equally  concerned,  in  the  main  transactions,  related 
in  that  portion  of  sacred  history  wiiich  we  are  now 
going  to  examine. 

The  critics  have  been  exceedingly  puzzled  to  find 
the  place,  assigned  as  the  original  residence  of  our 
first  parents.  This  is  a  topic  on  which  fancy  has 
been  indulged  to  an  unwarrantable  extent.  And 
some,  weary  of  the  search,  and  not  being  able  to  fix 
on  any  definite  spot,  bearing  all  the  geographical  marks 
of  the  earthly  paradise  mentioned  by  Moses,  have 
been  tempted  to  conclude,  that,  by  the  garden  of  Eden 
is  meant,  in  Scripture,  the  whole  field  of  nature,  every 
part  of  which  must  have  been  a  paradise,  or  place  of 
delight  to  man,  while  he  retained  his  innocence,  and 
held  fast  his  integrity.  But  the  scriptural  account 
seems,  obviously,  intended  to  convey  the  idea  of 
locality.  No  person,  perhaps,  ever  read  the  account 
seriously  without  receiving  that  impression  ;  and,  in 
regard  to  the  most  important  facts  and  doctrines  of 
the  Bible,  our  first  impressions  are  very  likely  to  be 
correct,  especially  if  we  read  with  an  honest  desire  to 
know  the  truth,  and  not  with  a  view  to  find  support 
for  a  preconceived  opinion,  or  a  favourite  hypothesis. 
The  place  is  supposed  to  have  been  selected  on  the 
third  day  of  the  creation  week,  when  the  water  was 
drained  off,  and  the  land  was  prepared  for  vegetation. 
The  description  of  it  by  JNIoses,  begins  at  the  Slh 
verse,  and  ends  at  the   14th,  inclusive,  chapter  2d. 


22  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

*^  And  the  Lord  God  planted  (or,  as  the  place  may  be 
rendered,  had  planted,)  a  garden,  eastward  in  Eden; 
and  there  he  put  the  man  whom  he  had  formed. '^ 
This  land  of  Eden  was  a  province  in  Asia;  and  it  is 
said  to  have  lain  eastward,  in  regard  to  the  place 
where  Moses  was  when  he  wrote  his  history.  Dr. 
Shuckford,  and  other  respectable  writers,  believe  it  to 
have  been  a  country  of  considerable  extent,  and  that 
it  lay  north  of  the  Gulf  of  Persia,  some  twelve  or  fif- 
teen degrees  east  of  Jerusalem.  "  We  are  of  opinion," 
says  Calmet,  in  his  Critical  Dictionary  of  the  Bible, 
"that  the  country  of  Eden  extended  into  Armenia, 
and  included  the  sources  of  the  Euphrates,  Tigris, 
Phosis  and  Araxes."  And  a  country,  by  this  name, 
is  several  times  mentioned,  by  inspired  writers,  in 
after  ages;  so  that  we  cannot  doubt  its  existence, 
whatever  difficulty  we  may  find  in  ascertaining  its 
relative  position.  See  Isaiah  xxxvii.  12;  2  Kings  xix. 
12,  13;  Ezekiei  xxvii.  23.  Out  of  this  land  of  Eden, 
Moses  informs  us,  there  went  a  river  to  water  the 
garden;  and  from  thence  it,  i.  e.  the  river  was  parted, 
and  became  into  four  heads;  and  he  gives  us  the 
names  by  which  these  four  heads  or  streams  were 
distinguished  in  his  time:  viz.  Pison,  Gihon,  Hiddekel, 
and  Euphrates.  The  first  is  said  to  have  compassed 
Havila,  a  region  of  country  abounding  in  gold  and 
precious  stones;  obviously  a  province  in  Arabia, 
known  in  modern  geography  by  another  name.  The 
second  river  is  said  to  have  compassed  or  touched 
upon  the  land  of  Ethiopa,  or,  more  properly,  the  land 
of  Gush — a  tract  of  country  east  of  the  Arabian  Gulf, 
or  Red  Sea.  The  third,  generally  allowed  to  be  the 
Tigris,  touched  on  the  east  of  Assyria.  The  Eu- 
plirates  is  well  known — and  it  is  often  mentioned,  in 
Scripture,  as  the  great  river.  The  fact  appears  to  be 
this.  The  Tigris  and  Euphrates  have  their  sources  in 
or  near  the  mountains  of  Armenia.  They  run  south- 
ward, in  distinct  streams,  to  within  no  great  distance 
of  the  once  famous  city  of  Babylon,  where  they  form 
a  junction,  flowing  on,  for  several  leagues,  in  one 
channel;  then  they  separate,  and  empty  into  the  Per- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORT.  23 

slan  Gulf,  by  two  months,  known,  in  Moses'  time,  by 
the  names  Pison  and  Gihon.  The  river  of  Eden  was 
the  union  of  these  waters;  and,  of  the  four  heads  or 
streams  into  which  it  was  parted,  two  lay  north,  and 
the  other  two  south  of  the  garden,  which  was,  pro- 
bably, situated  east  of  the  great  channel,  and  not  far 
from  a  town  now  called  Bassora. 

This  garden  appears  to  have  been  well  suppHed 
with  a  rich  variety  of  shrubbery,  and  such  fruits  as 
were  wholesome  and  palatable.  "  And  out  of  the 
ground  made  the  Lord  God  to  grow  every  tree  that 
is  pleasant  to  the  sight  and  good  for  food.'^  Two 
trees  are  particularly  mentioned,  viz.  the  tree  of  life, 
and  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil; 
which  will  fall  under  our  notice  again,  in  their  proper 
place  and  connexion.  Suffice  it  to  remark  here,  that 
the  former  seems  to  have  been  so  called,  because  it 
was  an  instituted  sign  or  emblem  of  that  life  and  feli- 
city which  man  was  to  enjoy  so  long  as  he  continued 
faithful  and  obedient  to  his  Creator;  and  the  latter 
received  its  name  from  its  being  appointed  as  a  test 
of  his  reverence  for  the  will  and  authority  of  heaven. 

Thus  much  for  the  local  situation  of  this  first  and 
finest  plantation  that  ever  adorned  the  face  of  nature. 
Its  climate  was  a  charming  medium  between  the  ex- 
tremes of  heat  and  cold;  its  air  bland;  its  soil  fertile; 
its  waters  perennial,  and  its  fruits  abundant  and  deli- 
cious. Milton,  in  his  "  Paradise  Lost,"  gives  us  the 
following  inimitable  picture  of  its  natural  beauties. 

"A  happy  rural  seat  of  various  view; 
Groves,  whose  rich  trees  wept  od'rous  gums  and  balm; 
Others,  whose  fruit,  burnish'd  with  golden  rind, 
Hung  amiable;  (Hesperian  fables  true, 
If  true,  here  only)  and  of  delicious  taste. 
Betwixt  them,  lawns,  or  level  downs,  and  flocks, 
Grazing  the  tender  herb,  were  interpos'd; 
Or  palmy  hillock,  or  the  flowry  lap 
Of  some  irriguous  valley  spread  her  store. 
Flow'rs  of  all  hue,  and  without  thorn  the  rose. 
Another  side,  umbrageous  grots  and  caves 
Of  cool  recess,  o'er  which  the  mantling  vine 
Lays  forth  her  purple  grape,  and  gently  creeps 
Luxuriant.     Meanwhile,  murm'ring  waters  fall 


34  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

Down  the  slope  liills,  dispers'd,  or  in  a  lake 
(That  to  the  fringed  bank,  with  myrtle  crown'd, 
Her  crystal  mirror  holds,)  unite  their  streams. 
Tlie  birds  their  choir  apply.     Airs,  vernal  airs, 
Breathing  the  smell  of  fields,  and  groves,  attune 
Tiie  trembling  leaves,  while  universal  Pun, 
Knit  with  the  Graces,  and  the  Hours  in  dance, 
Lead  on  the  eternal  Spring." 

"And  the  Lord  God  took  the  man,  and  put  him  into 
the  garden  of  Eden,  to  dress  it,  and  to  keep  it." 
Even  in  a  state  of  innocence,  and  amid  the  richest 
profusion  of  the  hounties  of  heaven,  it  was  not  good 
for  man  to  be  idle.  Here,  says  the  bounteous  Lord 
of  the  soil  to  the  first  man,  here  is  a  field  well  adapted 
to  produce  a  plentiful  increase;  take  possession,  culti- 
vate it,  take  care  of  its  fruits,  and  enjoy  them.  What 
useful  lessons,  relating  to  both  worlds,  are  to  be  met 
with  in  the  Bible  !  It  is  profitable  for  instruction  and 
correction  in  all  things.  Man  is  endowed  with  active 
powers,  to  the  end  that  they  may  be  exercised.  And 
the  diligent  exertion  of  these  powers  is  essential  to  our 
happiness,  due  to  our  species,  and  required  by  the  law 
of  nature.  Activity  marks,  alike,  the  character  of  the 
bee,  the  ant,  and  the  angel :  nor  can  any  of  the  human 
family,  possessing  capacity  and  the  means  of  employ- 
ment, be  innocently  idle.  An  early  habit  of  industry 
is  one  of  the  best  natural  preventives  of  disease,  ennui 
and  sin,  that  can  be  devised.  It  was  judged  useful 
to  our  first  parents  in  paradise,  and  there  can  be  no 
rational  doubt,  that  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord  find 
employment  in  heaven,  suited  to  that  high  and  holy 
stage  of  our  immortal  existence. 

But  man  is  to  pursue  his  business,  and  exercise  his 
faculties,  both  physical  and  moral,  under  a  sense  of 
his  dependance  on,  and  obligations  to,  his  Creator. 
Every  intelligent  creature  receives  his  being  under  a 
law,  and  under  the  obligation  of  that  law  he  is  held 
for  ever,  whether  he  acknowledges  and  lives  up  to  it, 
or  not.  The  moral  law,  or  that  law  of  the  Creator 
which  is  designed  for  the  government  of  intelligent 
creatures,  is  the  imperishable  bond  that  connects  the 
moral  kingdom  of  Jehovah  in  all  its  parts,  and  holds 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  25 

both  men  and  angels  responsible  to  Him  who  made 
them,  and  who  lias,  of  course,  a  right  to  prescribe 
their  duty.  Under  this  law,  Adam  and  Eve  received 
their  existence,  and  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose,  that 
some  duties  were  enjoined  upon  them  by  divine  au- 
thority, wisely  chosen  and  iiappily  calculated  to  keep 
them  mindful  of  their  obligations  to  the  munificent 
Author  of  every  good  and  perfect  gift.  Of  tliis  sort 
was  the  observance  of  the  weekly  Sabbath;  which 
was  now  instituted,  as  we  are  informed  in  the  third 
verse  of  this  chapter: — "And  God  blessed  the  seventh 
day  and  sanctified  it;'^  that  is,  set  it  apart — distin- 
guished it  from  other  days — appropriated  it  to  devout 
and  holy  services  exclusively,  and  promised  a  blessing 
on  those  who  should  observe  it  in  a  thankful  and  reli- 
gious manner.  Some  persons  have  strangely  fancied 
that  the  Sabbath  was  not  to  be  observed,  till  the  giving 
of  the  law  at  Mount  Sinai.  But,  if  it  was  not  intended 
to  be  observed  till  two  thousand  five  hundred  years  after 
the  creation,  why  was  it  instituted  so  early?  That  it 
was  instituted  on  the  seventh  day  of  the  creation  week, 
and  the  first  day  of  Adam's  life,  is  as  plain,  in  the 
passage  just  ched,  as  language  can  make  any  thing. 
And  the  fact  of  its  appointment,  in  the  beginning, 
shows  that  it  was  to  be  sacredly  kept  from  the  begin- 
ning; just  as  the  fact,  that  the  precept  concerning  it  is 
placed  in  the  decalogue,  or  summary  of  the  moral  law, 
as  written  by  the  finger  of  God  and  promulgated  by 
the  ministry  of  Moses,  leaves  us  no  room  to  doubt  that 
the  religious  observance  of  it  will  be  obligatory  on 
mankind  to  the  latest  generation.  The  change  ot  the 
day,  from  the  seventh  to  the  first,  at  the  resurrection 
of  Christ,  does  not,  in  the  least,  affect  the  principle  of 
the  ordinance,  which  demands  the  seventh  part  of  our 
time  to  be  devoted  to  God  and  the  concerns  of  religion. 
Our  first  parents,  no  doubt,  obeyed  the  law  of  the  Sab- 
bath, agreeably  to  its  spirit  and  design;  keeping  it  as 
a  day  of  holy  rest — acknowledging  the  wisdom  and 
power  of  the  Creator,  as  displayed  in  the  works  of  his 
hand — and  off'ering  him  their  grateful  praises  for  all 
the  tokens  of  his  goodness  with  which  they  were  sur- 
3 


26  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORT. 

rounder].  Let  us  imitate  their  pious  example.  To 
us  the  Sabhath  commemorates  not  only  the  creation, 
but,  also,  the  redemption  of  the  world.  And  although 
the  institution  originated  in  the  sovereign  authority  of 
God,  yet  is  it  so  clearly  benevolent  in  its  bearing  on 
both  man  and  beast — so  benign  in  its  influence  on 
public  morals  and  general  happiness,  that,  one  would 
think,  the  common  principles  of  humanity  would 
prompt  all  men  to  regard  it  with  reverence,  and  to 
give  It  the  weight  of  their  influence  and  unqualified 
approbation. 

But  the  most  interesting  point  of  light  in  which  we 
can  contemplate  the  primitive  parents  of  our  race,  is 
that  of  their  being  a  party  to  the  covenant  which  God 
was  pleased  to  enter  into  with  the  human  family, then 
existing  in  and  represented  by  them.  It  would  not 
comport  with  the  design  of  these  lectures,  to  go  mi- 
nutely into  the  discussion  of  any  topics  in  systematic 
theology.  But  this  is  a  subject  which  lies  at  the 
foundation  of  revealed  religion;  and,  perhaps,  we 
should  not  pass  it  over  without  some  special  notice. 
That  such  a  covenant,  as  has  just  been  mentioned, 
did  exist  between  God  and  man,  seems  evident  from 
the  frequent  references  made  to  it  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. The  doctrine  has,  indeed,  been  maintained, 
with  some  modifications,  by  the  great  body  of  Chris- 
tian divines,  in  every  period  of  the  church;  and  it  is 
believed  that  the  passage  of  sacred  scripture  now 
before  us,  teaches  it  in  terms  which  camiot  be  other- 
wise explained,  without  destroying  their  consistency, 
and  perverting  their  obvious  import.  "  And  the  Lord 
God  conmianded  the  man,  saying.  Of  every  tree  of  the 
garden  thou  mayest  freely  eat;  but  of  the  tree  of  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it: 
for  in  the  day  that  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely 
die.'^  Here  is,  we  think,  the  substance  of  a  covenant, 
though  not  in  a  very  extended  or  explicit  form.  There 
is,  first,  a  condition  proposed,  viz.  obedience  to  a  pro- 
hibitory command,  "thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it ;"  secondly, 
a  penalty,  in  case  of  disobedience,  "  thou  shalt  surely 
die;"  and,  thirdly,  a  promise  of  life  and  happiness 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  27 

implied,  consequent,  on  tlie  fnlfilment  of  tlie  condition. 
The  whole  was  propounded  by  God;  and  when  pro- 
pounded, man  could  not,  rightfully,  refuse  to  acquiesce 
in  it,  because  he  was  bound,  by  the  law  of  his  nature, 
to  yield  obedience  to  his  Creator,  in  every  instance. 
He  would  readily  perceive,  tlierefore,  that  the  cove- 
nant would  impose  no  irksome  obligation  upon  him, 
whatever  advantages  it  might  secure  to  him  and  his 
descendants,  in  the  event  of  his  faithful  compliance 
with  its  condition.  And  that  he  did,  in  fact,  acquiesce, 
is  made  perfectly  plain  in  the  sequel  of  the  sacred  his- 
tory. The  tree  of  life  appears  to  have  been  the  seal 
or  memorial  of  this  covenant;  the  fruit  of  which  was 
doubtless  eaten,  by  Adam  and  Eve,  with  religious 
solemnity  and  thanksgiving.  We  have  a  remark  or 
two  to  make  on  the  penalty  annexed,  and  to  be  in- 
flicted, in  case  of  man's  disobedience.  It  is  important 
to  understand  its  import.  It  is  expressed  in  language 
somewhat  equivocal:  "  In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof 
thou  shalt  surely  die."  It  is  deal/i,  and  that  in  a  very 
extended  and  awful  sense — temporal  and  spiritual; 
which  ^vould,  of  course,  be  eternal,  were  there  no 
remedy  provided.  But  tliere  is  a  remedy:  and  on 
those  who  accept  it,  the  second  death,  or  death  eter- 
nal, can  have  no  power.  To  suppose  that  nothing 
more  than  temporal  death  is  meant,  would  be  to 
make  the  word  of  God  of  no  effect;  for  Adam  did  not 
die  that  kind  of  death,  the  day  that  he  ate  of  the  for- 
bidden fruit — he  continued  in  this  life  more  than  nine 
hundred  years  after  he  became  a  sinner.  But,  sphit- 
ually,  he  did  die,  and  that  immediateh/.  He  was 
filled  with  shame — lost  communion  with  God — was 
driven  from  paradise,  and  prohibited  the  fruit  of  the 
tree  of  life.  Whether  the  blessings  of  the  covenant 
would  have  been  enjoyed  for  ever  in  this  world,  or 
whether,  in  case  of  Adam's  fidelity,  he  and  his  pos- 
terity would  have  been  removed,  in  due  time,  to 
another  state  adapted  to  a  higher  stage  of  existence, 
are  questions  which  it  were  vain  to  agitate;  for  they 
are  questions  of  mere  curiosity,  on  which  the  Scrip- 
tures are  silent.     According  to  God's  glorious  plan  of 


28  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

grace,  this  world  was  meant  to  be  but  the  vestibule 
of  the  world  to  come,  and  all  conjectures  about  what 
it  might  have  been,  on  another  plan,  are  baseless 
vi^ons. 

But  were  the  descendants  of  Adam  included  in  this 
covenant?  So  we  are  tau2:ht  from  the  beainnins:  to 
the  end  of  the  Bible;  and  we  verily  beheve,  that  right 
reason  has  no  solid  objection  to  bring  against  the  doc- 
trine. Paul,  the  apostle,  in  his  epistle  to  the  Romans 
(ch.  V.)  tells  us,  that  "by  one  man's  offence  many 
were  made  sinners — and  that  through  the  offence  of 
one,  judgment  came  upon  all  to  condemnation."  The 
apostle,  here,  manifestly  alludes  to  the  covenant  of 
which  we  have  been  speaking.  And  it  seems  to  us, 
that  no  one  who  is  tolerably  conversant  with  the 
writings  of  Moses  and  the  prophets,  and  of  Christ 
and  his  apostles,  can  hesitate  to  admit  that  the  fol- 
lowing answer  to  a  question  in  our  catechism,  is 
founded  on  scriptural  authority:  "As  the  covenant 
was  made  with  Adam,  not  only  for  himself,  but  for 
his  posterity,  all  mankind,  descending  from  him  by 
ordinary  generation,  sinned  in  him,  and  fell  with  him, 
in  his  first  transgression.'' 

But  let  us  look  at  this  matter  in  the  light  of  reason, 
as  there  are  those  who  prefer  the  less  light  to  the 
greater.  Man  was  created  a  moral  agent,  and  he 
was  designed  to  propagate  his  species.  This  species 
is  of  great  consequence  in  the  universe.  It  is  pre- 
sumable, therefore,  that  God  would  notice  them  in  a 
way  suited  to  their  rank  in  the  scale  of  creatures;  and 
that  in  his  laws  given  to,  as  in  his  transactions  with, 
the  parent  of  the  race,  he  would  have  regard  to  the 
offspring.  Now  the  covenant  in  question  was  calcu- 
lated to  suit  man's  character  as  a  free,  moral,  and 
accountable  creature,  and  to  secure  important  bene- 
fits to  the  whole  family,  had  the  parent  held  fast  his 
integrity.  But  he  was  fallible:  he  failed,  and  these 
advantages  are  forfeited.  And  from  this  sad  event, 
are  drawn  most  of  the  plausible  objections  to  the 
measure.  In  the  contrary  event,  i.  e.  had  the  cove- 
nant been  kept  and  the  blessings  been  secured,  the 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  29 

measure  would  have  been  esteemed  good  by  every 
child  of  Adam.  No  one  would  have  had  any  objec- 
tion to  being  made  happy,  in  consequence  of  the 
representative  character  of  our  great  progenitor:  and 
does  not  this  prove,  that  all  objections  drawn  from 
the  unhappy  issue  as  it  actually  turned  out,  are 
wholly  selfish  and  invalid?  Furthermore,  let  it  not 
be  forgotten,  that  Adam  was  placed  in  circumstances 
the  most  favourable  that  can  be  conceived  for  retain- 
ing iiis  moral  rectitude,  and  for  securing  the  blessings 
of  the  covenant  to  his  descendants.  On  what  ground 
can  we  flatter  ourselves  that  we  would  have  acted  a 
better  part,  had  we  been  placed  in  similar  circum- 
stances, and  entrusted,  each  one  in  succession,  with 
the  care  of  his  own  virtue  and  happiness  ?  Such  con- 
siderations as  these  should  produce  in  our  minds  a 
quiet  and  filial  acquiescence  in  the  counsels  and 
decisions  of  our  heavenly  Father,  in  relation  to  this 
momentous  and  interesting  transaction.  "  The  Lord 
is  righteous  in  all  his  ways,  and  holy  in  all  his  acts." 
Let  us  justify  him  in  our  hearts,  and  take  shame  to 
ourselves.  We  are  the  degenerate  plants  of  a  strange 
vine.  By  nature  we  bear  the  image  of  the  earthy 
Adam;  but,  through  grace,  we  may  be  made  like 
Christ,  the  heavenly  Adam.  Redeeming  love  has 
provided  a  remedy  for  the  miseries  of  our  mournful 
apostasy. 


Joy  to  the  world,  the  Saviour  reigns 
Let  earth  receive  her  King  ; 
Let  every  heart  prepare  him  room, 
And  heaven  and  nature  sing." 


30  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 


LECTURE   III 


THE    APOSTASY. 


And  when  the  woman  saw  that  the  tree  was  good  for  food,  and  that 
it  was  pleasant  to  the  eyes,  and  a  tree  to  be  desired  to  make  one 
wise,  she  took  of  the  fruit  thereof  and  did  eat,  and  gave  also  unto 
her  husband  with  her,  and  he  did  eat. — Gen.  iii.  6. 

The  fall  of  man,  the  introduction  of  sin,  with  its  long 
train  of  direful  consequences,  may  be  ranked  among 
the  deep  things  of  God.  Why  was  it  permitted?  how 
was  it  brought  about?  and  what  will  be  its  issue?  are 
questions  which,  when  duly  considered,  can  hardly 
fail  to  make  lis  feel  our  intellectual  weakness.  '' 0 
the  depth  of  the  riches,  both  of  the  wisdom  and 
knowledge  of  God!  how  unsearchable  are  his  judg- 
ments, and  his  ways  past  finding  out!''  The  fact  that 
mankind  are  a  depraved  race  of  beings,  is  undeni- 
able; and  to  suppose  that  they  came  from  the  hand 
of  the  Creator  in  this  depraved  state,  would  be  to  im- 
peach the  glorious  purity  of  the  divine  character.  To 
account  for  the  sad  degeneracy  of  our  nature,  has 
long  been  a  matter  of  laborious  investigation  with 
the  learned  and  the  inquisitive.  Various  opinions 
have  been  started,  and,  for  a  time,  prevailed  in  the 
pagan  world.  One  set  of  philosophers  maintained 
the  absurd  and  self-destructive  notion  of  two  inde- 
pendent principles,  the  one  good,  and  the  other  evil  — 
the  latter  aiming,  perpetually,  to  mar  and  defeat  the 
designs  of  the  former:  hence,  they  fancied,  arose  all 
the  corruption,  disorder,  and  infelicities  of  nature. 
Others  talked  about  the  perverseness  and  obliquity  of 
matter — as  if  its  connexion  with  mind  iii  the  human 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  31 

species,  iinadvoidably  produced  a  deterioration  of  onr 
intellectual  powers  and  moral  qualities.  Indeed,  one 
hypothesis  has  given  place  to  another,  in  such  long 
succession,  and  with  so  little  additional  light  or  pro- 
bability, that  it  would  seem  philosopliy  and  unaided 
reason  can  come  to  no  satisfactory  conclusion  on  the 
subject.  The  short  account  of  Moses,  comprised  in 
the  third  chapter  of  Genesis,  though  not  without  its 
difficulties,  will  be  found,  on  candid  examination, 
even  aside  from  its  inspired  authority,  more  rational, 
coherent,  and  consistent  with  the  character  of  God 
and  man,  than  any  other  that  lias  ever  been  given  to 
the  world.  Let  us  attend  to  it,  then,  with  an  honest 
desire  to  know  the  truth,  however  humbling  it  may 
be  to  the  pride  of  our  hearts.  And  be  it  our  fervent 
prayer  to  God,  that  ^' as  we  have  borne  the  image 
of  the  earthy,  we  may  also  bear  the  huage  of  the 
heavenly."   1  Cor.  xv.  49. 

It  will  be  proper,  here,  to  recollect  the  leading 
points  attempted  to  be  established,  in  a  preceding 
lecture,  viz.,  that  as  man  is  a  moral  and  accountable 
creature,  he  received  his  being  under  a  law  suited  to 
his  rational  character,  honourable  grade,  and  high 
destination  in  the  great  kingdom  of  the  Creator;  that, 
as  he  was  designed  to  propagate  his  species,  it  was  fit 
and  proper  that  any  transactions  between  God  and  the 
original  progenitor  of  the  race,  should  have  a  bearing 
on  his  descendants;  that  the  covenant  formed  with 
our  first  parents,  by  a  promise  of  eternal  life  and  feli- 
city in  case  of  their  obedience,  and  a  threatening  of 
death  in  the  contrary  event,  imposed  upon  them  no 
new  or  irksome  obligation.  Tiiat  being  already  com- 
plete and  undeniable  from  the  law  of  their  nature,  it 
is  plain  that  such  a  dispensation  could  be  of  no  dis- 
advantage, whatever  benefits  it  might  secure  to  them 
and  their  posterity.  We  have  seen,  also,  that  Adam 
and  Eve  were  made  in  the  divine  image  —  were 
endued  with  knowledge,  rectitude  and  holiness — in- 
dulged with  divine  communications — invested  with 
dominion  over  all  other  creatures  in  this  lower  world 
— loaded   with  a  rich  profusion  of  the  bounties  of 


32  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

Heaven,  and  placed  in  circumstances  the  most  favour- 
able that  can  be  conceived,  for  holding  fast  their  in- 
tegrity and  securing  the  blessings  of  the  covenant; 
insomuch,  that  no  person  has  any  ground  to  think,  he 
would  have  acted  a  wiser,  or  a  belter  part,  had  his 
destiny  been  put  at  his  own  disposal. 

Bearing  these  ideas  along  with  us,  proceed  we  now 
to  contemplate  our  fallen  nature — but  the  wreck  of 
what  it  was,  "till  one  greater  Man  restore  us,  and  re- 
gain the  blissful  seat."  The  subject  naturally  divides 
itself  into  three  parts  which  we  shall  consider  briefly, 
in  the  following  order:  viz.  First,  the  temptation 
which  led  to  the  breach  of  the  covenant  in  eating  the 
forbidden  fruit;  secondly,  the  crimiiiality  of  that  act; 
and  thirdly,  the  consequences  that  ensued. 

I.  The  temptation.  The  visible  instrument  em- 
ployed in  tills,  according  to  the  narrative  of  the  sacred 
historian,  was  "the  serpent."  Of  what  species  this 
serpent  was,  or  how  far  its  nature  and  properties  may 
have  been  changed  and  degraded,  as  a  memorial  of 
God's  hatred  of  sin,  it  were  useless  and  vain  to  in- 
quire. Some  writers  suppose,  that,  before  the  fall, 
serpents  were  beautiful,  docile,  and  inotfensive  crea- 
tures; that  they  inhabited  trees,  and  fed  on  fruits; 
that  they  were  endued  with  great  sagacity;  and  that 
our  first  parents  regarded  them  as  favourites,  in  com- 
parison of  the  other  orders  of  inferior  animals.  The 
learned  and  ingenious  Dr.  Adam  Clarke  is  of  opinion, 
that,  by  the  serpent  is  meant  one  of  the  ape  or  ouran- 
outang  tribe;  that  those  disgusting  caricatures  on  hu- 
man nature  were,  originally,  gifted  with  speech  and 
reason,  walked  erect,  and  possessed  we  know  not 
how  many  other  noble  endowments;  but  upon  their 
concurring  with  the  prince  of  devils,  in  the  ruin  of  our 
species,  they  were  degraded  to  their  present  condi- 
tion, deprived  of  articulate  language,  and  in  a  great 
measure  (^reason,  doomed  to  go  on  all-fours  and  lick 
the  dust,  "cursed  above  all  cattle,  and  above  every 
beast  of  the  field."  As  the  doctor  has  kindly  licensed 
his  readers  to  adopt  or  reject  this  opinion  as  they 
may  see  meet,  no  person  can  hesitate  to  give  him  all 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  33 

the  credit  due  to  such  a  novel  and  cnrions  discovery. 
They  who  adopt  this  opinion  to  get  rid  of  one  set  of 
difficuhies,  will  have  to  encounter  another  class,  equal- 
ly fornudable  and  perplexing,  if  not  more  so.  Moses 
remarks  that  "  The  serpent  was  more  subtle  than  any 
beast  of  the  field  which  the  Lord  God  had  made." 
Had  it  been,  naturally,  a  speaking  and  reasoning 
creature,  capable  of  referring  so  adroitly  to  the  char- 
acter of  God,  and  of  giving  to  his  threatening,  in  the 
penal  sanction  of  the  covenant,  so  deceptive  a  gloss, 
its  superior  subtlety  would  not  have  been  at  all  re- 
markable; for  in  that  case,  it  would  have  borne  a 
stronger  resemblance  to  a  fallen  angel  than  to  any 
beast  of  the  field.  We  prefer,  therefore,  the  common 
understanding  of  the  Mosaic  account;  i.  e.  that  the 
visible  agent,  in  this  affair,  was  a  serpent,  in  the  usual 
import  of  the  term,  and  that  Satan,  the  prince  of 
apostate  spirits,  was  the  efficient  actor  and  foul  iii- 
stigater  of  the  evil  that  ensued.  How  he  made  the 
sharp  tongue  of  the  reptile  subservient  to  his  nefa- 
rious purpose,  we  pretend  not  to  explain.  Neither 
do  we  know  by  what  organs  he  spake  when  he  as- 
sailed our  Saviour  in  the  wilderness  of  Jordan,  or 
how  he  commanded  the  tongues  of  the  demoniacs,  of 
which  we  read  in  the  evangelists.  These  were  in- 
stances of  extraordinary  power,  which  the  Almighty 
permitted  him  to  exert,  for  reasons  doubtless  just  and 
good,  but  which  lie  beyond  the  horizon  of  our  limited 
view.  That  this  apostate  prince  of  darkness  was  the 
real  tempter  of  our  first  parents,  is  perfectly  evident 
from  a  varietv  of  passages  in  the  New  Testament, 
where  we  find  him  mentioned  by  names  and  titles 
drawn  from  the  malignity  of  his  character,  particu- 
larly as  it  was  manifested  in  the  sad  tragedy  of  the 
garden  of  Eden.  Our  Saviour  calls  him  a  murderer, 
a  liar,  the  father  of  lies,  and  an  adversary.  The 
apostle  Paul  speaks  of  the  serpent  that  beguiled  Eve, 
and  in  the  same  chapter  tells  us  that  he  is  sometimes 
transformed  into  an  angel  of  light.  In  other  places, 
he  speaks  of  his  devices,  his  fiery  darts, — and  ex- 
horts Christians  to  vigilance  and  prayer,  from  the  con- 


34  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

sideration  that  Satan  goeth  about  like  a  roaring  lion, 
seeking  whom  he  may  devour.  The  apostle  John 
calls  him  a  sinner  from  the  beginning,  the  old  serpent, 
a  dragon,  and  a  deceiver.  These  and  the  like  expres- 
sions may  be  considered  as  incidental  notes,  explana- 
tory of  the  text  before  us.  "Yea,  hath  God  said,  ye 
shall  not  eat  of  every  tree  of  the  garden?"  This 
abrupt  sentence  in  the  interrogatory  form,  is  supposed 
to  have  been  but  a  part  of  the  serpent's  address  to 
Eve.  However  that  may  be,  it  is  extremely  artful 
and  insinuating;  as  if  he  had  said,  expressly,  "It  can- 
not be  that  the  bountiful  Lord  and  proprietor  of  all 
things  would  forbid  you  the  use  of  any  fruit  with 
which  he  has  enriched  this  delightful  garden.  You 
must  have  mistaken  his  meaning.  Such  a  restraint 
would  be  unreasonable  and  unworthy  of  God." 
Hereupon  the  woman  repeated  the  law;  but,  as  if 
half  conquered  already  by  the  adversary's  plausible 
speech,  added  a  small  comment  of  her  own:  "We 
may  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  trees  of  the  garden:  but  of 
the  fruit  of  the  tree  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  gar- 
den, God  hath  said  ye  shall  not  eat  of  it,  neither  shall 
ye  touch  it,  lest  ye  die."  Tiiis  "neither  shall  ye 
touch  it,"  does  not  appear  in  the  prohibition,  as  given 
by  God  in  the  17th  verse  of  chapter  2d.  And  "lest 
ye  die,"  a  soft  and  doubtful  phrase,  is  substituted  for 
the  pointed  and  peremptory  declaration,  "  In  the  day 
that  thou  eatest  thereof,  thou  shalt  surely  die."  Em- 
boldened by  this  reply,  as  clearly  indicating  the  be- 
ginning of  pride  and  unbelief,  the  serpent  lays  aside 
his  disguise  and  declares  roundly,  "  Ye  shall  not  sure- 
ly die;  for  God  doth  know,  that  in  the  day  ye  eat 
thereof,  then  your  eyes  shall  be  opened,  and  ye  shall 
be  as  gods,  knowing  good  and  evil."  Here  we 
have  both  lying  and  perjury,  with  a  successful  appeal 
to  the  rising  pride,  self-will,  and  liberiinism  of  the 
human  heart.  To  "  be  as  gods,"  was  the  overpow- 
ering charm  —  the  fatal  ambition,  that  ruined  and 
degraded  our  species,  as  it  had,  probably,  hurled  the 
devil  and  his  angels  from  the  heights  of  heaven  to 
the  depths  of  misery  and  despair.     The  secret  aim 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  35 

and  supreme  desire  of  our  iinsanctiiied  nature  is,  to 
^'snatcli  from  God's  hand  the  balance — to  rejudge  his 
justice,  and  be  the  god  of  God.'' 

*'And  when  the  woman  saw  timt  the  tree  was  good 
for  food,  and  that  it  was  pleasant  to  the  eyes,  and  a 
tree  to  be  desired  to  make  one  wise,  she  took  of  the 
fruit  thereof  and  did  eat,  and  gave  also  unto  her  hus- 
band with  her,  and  he  did  eat."  Perhaps  Satan  sug- 
gested that  he  had  tasted  the  fruit,  and  derived  extra- 
ordinary advantages  from  it — his  subtlety,  power  of 
speech,  great  acuteness  in  discerning  the  properties  of 
things,  and,  in  one  word,  a  knowledge  and  happiness 
nearly  resembling  the  Creator  himself.  The  result  of 
the  interview  was  a  determination,  on  the  part  of  our 
first  parents,  to  break  through  the  salutary  restraint 
of  the  covenant.  The  woman  took,  and  ate,  and 
gave  to  her  husband,  and  he  ate  also.  "And  what 
great  wrong  was  there  (says  the  unbeliever)  in  this 
act  ?"  What  harm  could  there  be  in  eating  an  apple, 
a  fig,  or  a  cluster  of  grapes?"  This  we  are  now  to 
inquire  into  a  httle. 

11.  Any  act,  however  indifferent  in  itself,  may,  by 
divine  institution  or  appointment,  become  vastly  im- 
portant. The  will  of  God  is  the  standard  of  right. 
To  oppose  his  will,  whatever  may  be  the  matter  or 
form  of  the  opposition,  is  to  do  wrong.  Our  first 
parents  had  before  them  a  clear  and  express  revela- 
tion of  their  Maker's  will  in  this  case:  "Thou  shalt 
not  eat  of  it."  Now  the  violation  of  this  precept 
was  a  practical  renunciation  of  their  allegiance  to  the 
great  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth, — a  foolish  attempt  to 
withdraw  from  the  divine  government,  marked  by 
the  blackest  ingratitude  to  their  heavenly  Benefactor, 
and  by  the  most  unequivocal  contempt  for  infinite 
authority.  And  was  there  no  wrong  in  all  this?  But 
let  us  look  at  this  matter  a  little  more  closely.  The 
prohibition  in  question,  was  not  a  mere  display  of 
arbitrary  sovereignty.  The  holiness  and  benignity  of 
God  make  it  morally  impossible  that  he  should  ever 
will  or  command  any  thing  which  is  not  wise  and 
good.     "  The  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil 


36  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

(says  the  learned  and  pious  Vitringa)  was  chosen  of 
God  to  be  a  visible,  familiar,  and  permanent  lesson, 
by  which  man  was  not  only  admonished  of  the  eter- 
nal distinction  between  good  and  evil;  but  was  put 
upon  his  guard  as  to  the  quarter  from  which  alone 
evil  could  assail  him."  But  why  was  the  fruit  of  it 
forbidden?  In  answer  to  this  question,  we  remark, 
that  the  prohibition  answered  three  purposes,  all  tend- 
ing to  the  honour  of  God  and  the  good  of  the  crea- 
creature. 

First,  it  served  as  a  test  of  man's  obedience.  And 
this  enters  essentially  into  the  very  notion  of  a  pro- 
bationary state  suited  to  the  character  of  a  rational 
and  accountable  creature.  Here  was  a  positive  pre- 
cept. The  thing  to  which  it  related  was  simple  and 
easily  understood.  It  was  well  adapted  to  the  exist- 
ing circumstances  of  those  whese  obedience  it  de- 
manded. They  were  in  a  garden  of  the  Lord's  own 
planting,  with  liberty  to  use  all  its  productions,  this 
only  excepted. 

Secondly,  it  served  to  keep  man  in  mind  of  his  de- 
pendance  on  the  bountiful  Giver  of  every  good  and 
perfect  gift;  it  taught  him  to  seek  his  happiness  in  the 
way  which  God  had  prescribed,  and  to  expect  higher 
and  purer  and  holier  enjoyments,  than  were  to  be 
found  in  the  terrestial  Eden:  that  unqualified  submis- 
sion to  the  will  of  his  Creator  was,  at  once,  his  duty 
his  privilege,  and  safety.  Thus  that  tree,  Avhose 
touch  was  death,  was,  untouched,  a  source  of  useful 
instruction  and  moral  improvement. 

Thirdly,  it  served  as  a  sacramental  pledge  of  faith- 
fulness to  the  covenant,  which  God  was  pleased  to 
form  with  them,  and  in  them,  with  their  posterity. 
In  this  covenant,  there  was  a  promise  of  life  and  hap- 
piness, ratified  by  the  tree  of  life,  which  they  were 
allowed  to  use,  while  they  continued  obedient;  and  a 
threatening  of  death,  in  case  of  transgression,  ratified 
and  sealed,  by  the  tree  of  knowledge,  the  fruit  of 
which  was  forbidden  to  be  used.  "  When  by  a  gra- 
tutious  promise  of  immortality,  the  law  of  duty  was 
converted  into  a  pacific  covenant,  the  tree  of  life  and 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  37 

tlie  tree  of  knowledge  were  the  two  sacraments  of 
tliat  covenant;  the  former  behig  a  visible  document 
of  God's  faithfulness  to  liis  promise,  and  the  latter  a 
visible  document  of  his  faithfuhiess  to  his  threaten- 
ing. And  thus  the  assurance  of  life  or  death  being 
exhibited  to  our  first  parents,  by  sensible  signs,  they 
were  constantly  admonished  of  the  interest  staked  in 
their  hands,  and  of  the  infinitely  happy  or  horrible 
issue  of  their  probationary  state."     (Vitringa.) 

If  these  views  of  the  subject  be  correct,  the  crimi- 
nality of  eating  the  forbidden  fruit  must  be  abundant- 
ly evident.  It  was  perferring  self-will  to  God's  will, 
and  profanely  denying  his  right  to  the  homage  of  his 
intelHgent  creatures;  it  was  an  arrogant  encroachment 
on  the  divine  prerogative;  it  was  a  profanation  of  the 
seal  of  the  covenant,  and  a  forfeiture  of  life,  temporal, 
spiritual,  and  eternal.  Nor  is  that  opinion  extrava- 
gant, which  makes  it  a  virtual  violation  of  every  pre- 
cept in  the  decalogue,  an  infraction  of  every  tie  that 
binds  the  rational  creature  to  the  Creator  and  Sov- 
ereign of  the  universe. 

III.  What  then  were  the  consequences  of  this  high 
and  heinous  ofi;ence?  To  Adam  and  Eve,  as  might 
be  expected,  the  immediate  consequences  were'shame, 
fear,  confusion,  and  expulsion  from  the  garden  of  God. 
Vile  aff'ections  usurped  the  seats  of  peace,  innocence, 
and  joy.  Their  eyes  were  opened — the  charm  was 
broken — they  felt  themselves  justly  liable  to  eternal 
ruin;  naked  and  exposed  to  the  penalty  of  the  cove- 
nant, they  vainly  attempted  to  fly  from  the  presence 
of  their  offended  God.  But  neither  fig-leaves,  nor  all 
the  trees  of  the  garden  could,  screen  them  from  the 
piercing  eye  of  Omniscience.  The  criminals  are  ar- 
rested— Adam  endeavours  to  throw  the  blame  upon 
the  woman,  and  she  upon  the  serpent — but  all  in  vain; 
they  had.  acted  freely,  and  against  the  clear  light  of 
truth  and  the  majesty  of  Heaven.  They  are,  there- 
fore, condemned.  Adam  is  doomed  to  a  life  of  toil 
and  labour,  which  is  to  terminate  in  death — "  dust  to 
dust  and  ashes  to  ashes."  Eve,  as  first  in  the  trans- 
gression, is  to  bring  forth  children  in  pain  and  multi- 
4 


38  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

plied  sorrow,  and  to  be  subject  to  the  will  of  her  hus- 
band. The  serpent,  which  aforetime  had  probably 
inhabited  trees,  and  fed  on  delicious  fruits,  and  held  a 
respectable  rank  among  aninjals,  is  sentenced  to  go 
upon  his  belly  and  eat  dust  all  the  days  of  his  life. 
But,  in  the  sentence  of  the  serpent,  there  is  one  re- 
deeming clause:  "I  will  put  enmity  between  thee  and 
the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed;  he 
shall  bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel.^' 
Here  is  the  incipient  revelation  of  a  Saviour:  the 
serpent  and  his  seed  are  the  wicked  one  and  his  emis- 
saries; Jesus  Christ  is  the  seed  of  the  woman — as 
concerning  the  flesh,  the  offspring  of  a  virgin — mani- 
fested to  destroy  the  works  of  the  devil.  On  this 
foundation  our  first  parents  were  now  directed  to  re- 
pose their  trust.  And  that  all  hopes  from  the  violated 
covenant  might  be  given  up,  the  man,  who  had  been, 
in  a  measure  like  God,  able  to  discern  between  good 
and  evil,  was  now  driven  from  the  garden,  and  the 
access  to  the  tree  of  life  was  guarded  by  the  cheru- 
bim, armed  with  a  flaming  sword,  lest  the  offenders 
should  profane  the  sacrament  intended  to  seal  and 
guarantee  to  the  faithful,  blessings  which  were  now 
forfeited,  and  not  to  be  attained  but  through  the  me- 
diation of  the  second  Adam,  the  Lord  from  heaven. 

Alas  for  our  fallen  nature!  "How  is  the  gold 
become  dim!  how  is  the  most  fine  gold  changed!'^ 
Reader,  do  you  receive  the  divine  testimony,  on  the 
humbling  subject  of  this  lecture;  and  do  you  feel 
yourself  to  be  a  degenerate  plant  of  a  strange  vine,  a 
guilty,  helpless  sinner?  Then,  believe  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  you  will,  thereby,  secure  an  interest 
in  a  covenant  which  is  ordered  in  all  things  and  sure. 
But  remember,  that  unless  Christ  be  in  you,  the  hope 
of  glory  as  the  gospel  is  true,  there  is  no  warranted 
hope  for  you;  for  "neither  is  there  salvation  in  any 
other."  "He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  everlast- 
ing life:  and  he  that  believeth  not  the  Son  shall  not 
see  life;  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him.'^  John 
iii.  36. 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  39 


LECTURE  IV. 


THE  OFFERINGS  OF  CAflV  AND  ABEL. 

And  in  process  of  lime  it  came  to  pass,  that  Cain  brought  of  the  fruit 
of  the  ground  an  offering  unto  the  Lord.  And  Abel,  he  also 
brouglit  of  the  firstlings  of  his  flock,  and  of  the  fat  thereof.  And 
the  Lord  had  respect  unto  Abel,  and  to  his  offering  :  but  unto  Cain, 
and  to  his  offering,  he  had  not  respect.— Gen.  iv.  3-5. 

The  divine  conduct  towards  our  fallen  race,  has  been 
uniformly  marked  by  the  most  indubitable  evidences 
of  kindness  and  compassion.  When  onr  first  parents 
violated  the  covenant  of  innocence,  and  rose  in  rebel- 
lion against  the  majesty  of  heaven  and  earth,  they 
might  have  been  abandoned,  as  were  the  angels  who 
kept  not  their  first  estate.  This,  however,  was  not  the 
case.  True,  they  were  expelled  from  the  delightful 
walks  of  Eden,  and  denied  its  pleasant  fruits;  sub- 
jected to  various  afflictions  of  a  disciplinary  kind,  cal- 
culated to  make  them  feel,  that  in  forsaking  God  they 
had  forsaken  their  own  comforts;  but  the  glorious 
remedy  provided  in  the  counsels  of  eternity — the  seed 
of  the  woman — the  gracious  healer  of  the  breach  was 
announced  to  them  even  before  their  expulsion  from 
Paradise.  "I  will  put  enmity  between  thee  and  the 
woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed;  he  shall 
bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  braise  his  heel,"  com- 
prises the  germ  of  hope,  the  first  intimation  of  mercy, 
published  to  guilty  man.  This  promise  placed  the 
human  family,  at  once,  under  a  dispensation  of  grace, 
and  rendered  heaven  attainable,  by  Adam  and  his  de- 
scendants, througli  the  mediation  of  the  Son  of  God — 


40  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

the  promised  seed — manifested  in  due  time,  to  take 
away  sin,  and  destroy  tiie  works  of  the  devil.  Bat 
man,  though  thus  favourably  situated  for  the  attain- 
ment of  pardon  and  eternal  life,  through  the  merits  of 
a  Redeemer,  had  now  become  a  depraved  creature — 
the  glory  of  his  primitive  righteousness  had  departed 
from  him:  Adam  had  lost  the  image  God,  in  which 
he  was  created;  and  when  he  become  a  father,  his 
offspring  must  inherit  his  likeness,  as  well  in  the 
temper  and  qualities  of  their  minds,  as  in  the  form 
and  faculties  of  their  bodies.  In  perusing  the  Bible, 
therefore,  where  we  have  a  faithful  history  of  man, 
and  of  God's  providence  towards  him,  while  we  can- 
not but  see  and  acknowledge  the  sad  indications  of 
our  native  corruption  and  entire  degeneracy,  it  will  be 
pleasing  to  observe  occasionally,  the  divine  efficacy 
and  triumphs  of  redeeming  grace.  Of  this  remark,  we 
have  an  ilhistration  in  the  short  narrative  of  Moses, 
respecting  Cain  and  Abel,  the  first  two  persons  of 
whom  we  have  any  authentic  account,  that  came  into 
the  world  by  ordinary  generation.  How  long  after 
the  creation  they  were  born,  we  are  not  informed;  it 
is  generally  supposed  to  have  been  within  a  short 
period.  Neither  do  we  know  certainly,  what  differ- 
ence there  was  in  their  ages.  A  critical  examination 
of  the  Hebrew  text,  seems  to  me  to  favour  the  opin- 
ion, that  they  were  twins.  Be  this  as  it  may,  Cain 
was  the  first  born;  and  his  mother  appears  to  have 
entertained  high  hopes  concerning  him:  "I  have  got- 
ten a  man  from  the  Lord,"  exclaimed  the  joyful  mo- 
ther, on  the  birth  of  her  first  son.  The  name  Cdin 
signifies  acquisition;  and  he  was  probably  so  called 
by  his  mother,  as  a  grateful  memorial  of  God's  good- 
ness, in  making  her,  what  her  own  name  imported, 
"the  mother  of  all  living."  In  the  birth  of  this  child, 
Eve  had  some  evidence  that  the  race  was  to  be  con- 
tinned  for  a  time  at  least,  notwithstanding  the  guilt  of 
her  first  transgression.  Her  faith  respecting  the  seed 
v/ho  was  destined  to  wrest  the  prey  from  the  hands  of 
the  mighty  adversary,  was  thus  confirmed;  and,  per- 
haps, she  flattered  herself  that  this  was  the  Redeemer 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  41 

announced  in  the  promise.  If  so,  her  mistake  must 
have  been  soon  corrected.  The  development  of  his 
cliaracter  proved  tliat  he  was  of  "  ihe  wicked  one." 
Parents  should  never  neglect  to  render  thanks  to  Qod 
for  their  children;  but  let  not  their  expectations  res- 
pecting them  be  too  sanguine.  Our  children  will  be 
blessings  to  us  and  to  the  world,  if  God,  by  his  provi- 
dence and  grace,  make  them  so;  but  not  otherwise. 
We  should  always  bid  them  welcome,  and  spare  no 
pains  in  bringing  them  up  in  the  nurture  and  admoni- 
tion of  the  Lord;  yet,  to  use  an  old  proverb,  "  they 
are  in  themselves  certain  cares,  but  uncertain  com- 
forts." In  infancy,  they  press  upon  the  hand,  and  in 
after  life  they,  in  many  instances,  press  still  harder  on 
the  heart. 

Abel,  though  born  of  the  same  mother,  was  of  a 
spirit  widely  diftering  from  that  of  the  first  born.  We 
have  no  account  of  his  temper  or  conduct  in  child- 
hood; but,  from  his  occupation,  we  are  naturally  in- 
clined to  think  that  he  was  of  a  mild,  peaceful  and  con- 
templative disposition;  and  from  the  respect  shown 
by  the  Searcher  of  hearts  to  the  offering  which  he 
brought  to  the  Lord,  it  seems  probable  that  he  was  at 
an  early  period  of  his  life,  a  subject  of  religious  im- 
pressions. "Abel  was  a  keeper  of  sheep,  but  Cain 
was  a  tiller  of  the  ground." 

W^e  are  here  given  to  understand,  in  few  words, 
that  agriculture,  and  the  rearing  of  cattle,  were  the 
first  eujployments  of  mankind.  This  is  perfectly  na- 
tural; and  we  are  here  furnished  with  internal  evi- 
dence of  the  truth  of  Scripture  history.  These  occu- 
pations were  first  followed,  because  they  were  the 
most  necessary  and  useful.  The  first  essays  in  hus- 
bandry must  have  been  very  simple,  perhaps  little 
more  than  dressing  and  protecting  the  spontaneous 
fruits  of  the  ground.  Time  and  experience  would 
correct  mistakes,  and  suggest  many  improvements. 
And  the  culture  of  cattle  was  imporiant,  not  only  on 
account  of  the  religious  use  to  which  they  were  put, 
as  victims  for  the  altar,  but  for  their  milk  as  an  article 
of  sustenance,  and  their  fleeces  and  skins,  whicli  af- 
4^ 


42  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

forded  the  raw  materials  for  clothing:  for  it  does  not 
appear  that  their  flesh  was,  as  yet,  allowed  to  be  used 
for  food.  As  Adam,  when  placed  in  the  garden  of 
Eden,  was  reqnir'ed  to  dress  and  keep  it,  he  doubtless 
trained  his  sons  to  habits  of  industry.  Let  us  who 
are  parents  take  a  useful  hint  from  this  fact.  Our 
children,  whether  we  shall  leave  them  little  or  much 
property,  will  be  nothing  the  worse,  and  they  may  be 
vastly  the  better,  for  being  acquainted  with  some 
branch  of  business,  by  which,  in  the  failure  of  other 
resources,  they  may  gain  an  honest  livelihood.  And 
let  young  people  remember  that  it  is  their  duty,  and 
therefore  both  reputable  and  comfortable,  to  be  indus- 
trious. The  idle  boy  that  has  been  dandled  on  the 
lap  of  mistaken  fondness  till  he  comes  into  the  pos- 
sessions of  his  patrimony,  cannot  be  very  capable  of 
either  appreciating  it  aright,  or  of  managing  it  dis- 
creetly. And  the  mistress  of  a  family,  however  am- 
ple may  be  her  fortune,  will  always  find  her  account 
in  understanding,  at  least,  the  rudiments  of  house- 
wifery. Nor  let  it  be  forgotten,  for  it  cannot  be  dis- 
puted, that  indolence,  while  it  feeds  on  the  bounty  of 
friendship,  or  imposes  upon  unsuspecting  cliarity,  op- 
erates not  only  against  personal  virtue,  but  deeply 
and  powerfully  against  the  public  morals;  it  is  not  a 
solitary  sin — it  is  the  mother  of  a  progeny,  in  stature 
gigantic,  and  in  number  countless.  But  do  not  mis- 
take my  meaning,  readers.  Industry  is  not  piety,  nor 
are  all  industrious  people  pious.  Cain,  for  aught  that 
appears  to  the  contrary,  was  as  attentive  to  his  tillage 
as  Abel  was  to  liis  flock;  while  in  their  religious  prin- 
ciples and  moral  characters,  they  diflered  essentially, 
as  it  will  appear  in  the  sequel. 

"And  it  came  to  pass  in  process  of  time,  (or,  as  you 
find  it  in  the  margin  of  the  Bible,  at  the  end  of  days, 
i.  e.  at  the  end  of  the  days  of  the  week,  on  the  Sab- 
bath, the  day  on  which  divine  worship  was  performed 
statedly  and  solemnly,)  that  Cain  brought  of  the  fruit 
of  the  ground  an  ofl'ering  unto  the  Lord."  This  was 
evidently  a  mere  thank-off'ering,  designed  as  an  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  divine  munificence,  but  which 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  43 

implied  no  confession  of  sin  on  the  part  of  the  offerer, 
or  faitli  in  the  great  propitiation  to  be  offered,  in  (hie 
time,  for  tlie  sins  of  the  world.  "And  Abel,  he  also 
brought  of  the  firstlings  of  his  flock,  and  of  the  fat 
thereof."  This  oflering  of  Abel  was  of  the  finest  of 
his  lambs  or  kids;  a  Uving  creature,  of  wliich  the 
blood  was  to  be  shed,  and  the  flesh  consumed  on  the 
altar,  agreeably  to  divine  appointment,  as  an  acknow- 
ledgment that  the  offerer  was  a  sinner  and  deserving 
of  death;  and  it  likewise  had,  manifestly,  a  typical 
import,  and  implied  a  profession  of  faith  in  the  Lamb 
of  God,  whose  blood  cleanseth  from  all  sin.  "And 
the  Lord  had  respect  unto  Abel,  and  to  his  offering: 
but  unto  Cain,  and  to  his  offering,  he  had  not  respect." 
The  acceptance  of  Abel's  service  on  this  occasion,  was 
shown  in  a  manner  which  was  well  understood  by  all 
present:  probably,  it  was  by  fire  issuing  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord  to  consume  his  sacrifice,  as  in 
the  case  of  Elijah,  in  his  contest  with  the  votaries  of 
Baal,  and  several  other  instances  recorded  in  Scrip- 
ture. But  to  Cain  and  his  offering  no  respect  was 
paid.  Why  was  this?  There  must  have  been  some 
good  and  sufficient  ground  for  the  preference:  for 
with  God  there  is  no  respect  of  persons. 

With  a  view  to  a  right  understanding  of  this  mat- 
ter, we  have  two  or  three  remarks  to  make,  which 
may  shed  some  light  on  the  subject.  First — the  use 
of  animal,  or,  as  they  are  sometimes  distinguished, 
bloody  sacrifices,  has  obtained  among  mankind,  from 
the  earliest  times,  of  which  we  have  any  historical 
notices.  Patriarchs,  Israelites,  Jews  and  Pagans, 
have  resorted  to  them,  as  the  means  of  ])ropitiating 
the  divine  fixvour,  of  deprecating  the  wrath  of  Hea- 
ven, and  of  procuring  the  pardon  of  sin.  Now  that 
a  holy  God  should  be  pleased  with  the  pouring  out  of 
the  blood,  and  the  burning  of  the  flesh  of  any  of  his 
creatures,  seems  so  unlike  a  dictate  of  natural  reason, 
that  the  most  judicious  writers  have  felt  constrained 
to  refer  the  origin  of  such  oblations  to  a  divine  insti- 
tution. And,  after  a  candid  investigation  of  the  sub- 
ject, we  embrace  this  opinion,  as  true  and  correct. 


44  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

We  think  the  use  of  animal  sacrifices  originated  in 
divine  appointment,  immediately  after  (lie  fall  of 
man;  that  Adam  was  required  to  use  them,  as  an 
important  branch  of  his  worship;  that  lie  handed  the 
use  of  them  down  to  his  posterity,  and  that  the  cus- 
tom passed  to  Pagan  nations  through  the  medium  of 
tradition.  That  they  were  recognized,  and  ordered  to 
be  offered,  with  a  vast  apparatus  of  ceremony  and 
expensive  ritual,  under  the  Leviiical  priesthood,  and 
that  they  continued  to  be  used  by  the  descendants  of 
Abraham,  till  the  advent  of  Christ,  is  well  known  to  all 
who  have  any  acquaintance  with  the  Bible.  As  the 
flesh  of  animals  was  not  then  allowed  to  be  used  as 
food,  it  is  presumable,  nay,  highly  probable,  that  those 
animals,  whose  skins  our  first  parents  used  for  cloth- 
ing, had  been  offered  in  sacrifice.  Gen.  iii.  21.  And, 
from  the  well  known  character  of  Abel,  whom  our 
Lord  calls  "  righteous  Abel,"  as  also  from  the  accept- 
ance of  his  service  in  the  instance  before  us,  it  is  not 
to  be  supposed  that  he  offered  of  the  firstlings  of  his 
flock  without  a  divine  warrant. 

Our  second  remark  regards  the  design  of  this  insti- 
tution; which  was,  we  think,  twofold — first,  to  re- 
mind mankind  that,  as  transgressors  of  God's  law, 
they  deserved  death;  which  they  could  scarce  fail  to 
reflect  upon,  with  solenm  penitence,  as  often  as  they 
placed  the  bleeding  viciim  on  the  altar,  as  an  atone- 
ment for  their  sins;  but,  secondly,  and  chiefly,  it  was 
designed  as  a  typical  representation  of  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ,  the  grand  and  elticient  propitiatory,  through 
which  Jehovah  purposed,  from  the  beginning,  to  ex- 
tend pardon  and  salvation  to  guilty  man.  Viewed  in 
reference  to  this  glorious  object  of  faith  and  hope  set 
before  a  rebellious  and  ruined  world,  how  venerable, 
how  significant  and  august  those  bloody  sacrifices, 
and  symbolical  rites,  which  preached  to  the  world,  for 
ages,  under  the  Old  Testament  dispensation,  what  is 
clearly  taught  in  the  gospel,  i.  e.  that  "we  have  re- 
demption through  the  blood  of  Christ." 

If  these  remarks  be  just,  it  will  not  be  diflicult  to 
discover  the  reason  why  Abel  and  his  offering  were 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  45 

regarded  propitiously,  while  Cain  and  his  were  reject- 
ed. When  man  became  a  sinner,  lie  became  unfit 
for  any  direct  and  immediate  intercourse  with  his 
JNIaker.  Yet  God  saw  fit,  in  mercy,  to  reveal  himself 
as  accessible,  and  as  disposed  to  forgive  sin  and  ac- 
cept the  services  of  sinners,  through  a  Mediator.  This 
stupendous  plan  of  redeeming  love  was  announced  in 
the  first  promise  of  a  Saviour.  It  was  illustrated  and 
forcibly  represented  by  the  institution  of  animal  sac- 
rifices, in  which  we  are  to  look  for  the  origin  of  that 
maxim  universally  admitted  by  the  Jews,  and  which 
is  unequivocally  evangelized  in  the  New  Testament, 
viz.  "  That  without  the  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no 
remission  of  sin.^'  In  one  word,  the  covenant  of 
grace,  or  that  scheme  of  divine  compassion  to  fallen 
man,  founded  on  the  mediatorial  character  and  work 
of  Jesus  Christ,  was  administered  in  these  primitive 
times  chiefly  by  sacrifices;  and  the  religious  use  of 
them,  for  the  great  end  contemplated  in  their  appoint- 
ment, implied  a  profession  of  faith  in  the  promised 
Redeemer:  whereas  a  neglect  or  contempt  of  the 
types  and  symbols,  involved  a  practical  disregard 
towards  the  antitype  or  thing  signified,  which  was, 
indubitably,  the  Lamb  of  God,  destined  to  take  away 
the  sin  of  the  world,  by  the  sacrifice  of  his  blood. 
Abel,  then,  appears  to  have  acquiesced  in  God's  plan 
of  saving  sinners,  and  to  have  believed  the  revealed 
testimony  concerning  it.  He  approached  the  throne 
of  grace,  as  a  sinner,  confessing  his  guiU,  presenting 
at  the  altar,  "of  the  firsthngs  of  his  flock,"  a  sin-ofler- 
ing,  in  compliance  witli  the  divine  command,  implor- 
ing forgiveness,  and  professing  hope  in  "Him  who 
was  to  come,  and  give  his  \'i[e  a  ransom  for  many." 
Thus,  as  the  author  of  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
expresses  it,  "By  faith  Abel  olfered  unto  God  a  more 
excellent  sacrifice  than  Cain,  by  which  he  obtained 
witness  that  he  was  righteous,  God  testifying  of  his 
gifts;  and,  by  it,  he,  being  dead,  yet  speaketh."  Heb. 
xi.  4.  But  Cain,  though  he  believed  in  God  as  his 
creator  and  benefactor,  and,  therefore,  deemed  it  pro- 
per to  acknowledge  liis  munificence  by  an  eucharisti- 


46  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

cal  or  thank-offering,  yet,  not  being  hnmbled  for  his 
sins,  nor  believing  in  the  promised  Redeemer,  refused 
to  bring  that  species  of  offering  which  typified  redemp- 
tion by  the  blood  of  Christ:  and  he  was,  consequently, 
rejected  or  disapproved  of,  as  one  who  obstinately 
clung  to  the  violated  covenant — self-confident,  and 
unwilling  to  be  a  debtor  to  grace.  A  short  extract 
from  Dr.  Adam  Clarke's  notes  on  this  passage  of 
Scripture,  shall  close  this  article  of  our  lecture.  "Cain, 
the  father  of  Deism,  not  acknowledging  the  necessity 
of  a  vicarious  sacrifice,  nor  feeling  his  need  of  an 
atonement,  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  natural 
religion  brought  an  eucharistic  offering  to  the  God  of 
the  universe.  Abel,  not  less  grateful  for  the  produce* 
of  his  fields  and  the  increase  of  his  flocks,  brought  a 
similar  offering,  and  by  adding  a  sacrifice  to  it,  paid  a 
proper  regard  to  the  will  of  God,  as  far  as  it  had  then 
been  revealed,  acknowledging  himself  a  sinner,  and 
thus,  deprecating  the  divine  displeasure,  showed  forth 
the  death  of  Christ  till  he  came.  Thus  his  offerings 
were  accepted,  while  those  of  Cain  were  rejected;  for 
this,  as  the  apostle  says,  was  done  by  faith,  and  there- 
fore he  obtained  witness  that  he  was  righteous,  or 
a  justified  person,  God  testifying  with  his  gifts,  the 
thank-offering  and  the  sin-offering,  by  accepting  them, 
that  his  faith  in  the  promised  seed  was  the  only  way 
in  which  he  could  accept  the  services  and  offerings  of 
mankind.''  Did  God,  then,  abandon  the  unbelieving 
Cain,  and  allow  him  no  farther  space  for  repent- 
ance? Far  from  it.  Even  when  he  became  wroth, 
and  his  fallen  countenance  betrayed  the  blasphemy  of 
his  heart,  God,  "who  delighteth  not  in  the  death  of 
the  wicked,''  condescended  to  expostulate  with  him, 
in  a  manner  eminently  calculated  to  bring  him  to 
repentance,  and  the  acknowledgment  and  love  of  the 
truth.  "Why  art  thou  wroth,  and  why  is  thy  coun- 
tenance fallen?  If  thou  doest  well,  shalt  thou  not  be 
accepted?  and  if  thou  doest  not  well,  sin  lieth  at  the 
door."  In  the  words  of  our  Saviour  to  the  unbeliev- 
ing Jews,  we  have  a  short  but  excellent  comment 
on  this  address  of  the  Most  High  to  Cain:   "Ye  will 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  47 

not  come  unto  me,  that  ye  might  have  \\[eV'  Cain 
knew  the  terms  of  salvation  as  well  as  his  brother 
Abel ;  and  if  he  refused  to  comply  with  them,  he 
must  abide  the  coiiseqnences.  Tiie  righteous  Lord 
Jovelli  righteousness,  and  cannot  do  an  unrighteous 
act.  His  word  of  threatening,  as  well  as  of  promise, 
must  stand  fast,  and  be  unbroken  for  ever.  *'  The 
soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die.''  Cain  had  sinned; 
and  if  he  refused  to  accept  of  redemption  through  the 
mediation  of  the  second  Adam,  the  Lord  from  heaven, 
he  must  die.  Yet  he  might  have  life — a  ransom  was 
provided.  "Sin  lieth  at  the  door."  This  passage 
may,  and  we  think  ought  to  be  rendered, y/  sin-offer- 
ing coucheth  at  the  door;  that  is,  a  lamb,  for  a  sin- 
offering,  lieth  at  the  door  of  the  sheep-fold.  And  it 
seems  to  be  implied  that,  if  he  would  bring  such  an 
offering,  in  faith,  as  did  his  brother,  he  should  be  par- 
doned and  accepted.  And  though  he  began  to  medi- 
tate mischief  against  Abel,  from  the  base  principle  of 
envy,  God,  as  if  to  prevent  the  horrid  deed  that  en- 
sued, assured  him  that  none  of  his  rights  or  privileges, 
as  the  first-born,  were  at  all  abridged — that  Abel 
would  still  render  him  all  due  respect,  and  treat  him, 
in  the  family  circle,  with  that  deference  and  submis- 
sion which  belonged  to  the  elder  brother.  But  all 
this  could  not  satisfy  his  jealous  soul,  or  melt  his 
obdurate  heart.  He  regarded  the  ways  of  God  as 
unequal,  and  resolved  that  heaven's  favourite  should 
feel  the  weight  of  his  vengeance.  He  talked  with 
his  brother — probably  disputed  with  him  on  religious 
subjects,  and,  having  lured  him  into  the  field,  rose  up 
against  him,  and  slew  him,  as  an  apostle  informs  us, 
because  his  own  works  were  evil  and  his  brother's 
righteous.  Mark,  here,  the  difference  between  him 
that  serveth  God  and  him  that  serveth  him  not. 
Abel  was  a  believer,  a  professor  of  godliness;  he, 
therefore,  suffered  persecution — his  career  on  earth 
was  short — his  death  was  premature  and  violent. 
But  he  suffered  for  righteousness'  sake,  and  he  was 
blessed,  in  his  deed  and  in  his  end.  He  may  be  con- 
sidered as  the  first   martyr;   and  he   probably  now 


48  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

leads  the  van  of  that  noble  army  of  witnesses  for  the 
truth,  which,  encirchng  the  tiirone  of  glory,  cry  with 
a  loud  voice,  "  Salvation  to  our  God,  and  to  the  Lamb, 
for  ever  and  ever.'^ 

Let  us  learn  from  the  subject  of  this  lecture  the 
importance  of  worshipping  God  in  spirit  and  in 
truth,  and  the  necessity  of  a  believing  regard  to  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  all  our  endeavours  to  honour 
the  Creator,  and  to  secure  the  divine  acceptance  of 
our  persons  and  services.  We  are  sinners:  and  hea- 
ven is  inaccessible  to  us,  save  through  the  merits  and 
intercession  of  the  divinely  constituted  Mediator,  in 
whom  it  hath  pleased  the  Father  that  all  fulness 
should  dwell.  From  that  fulness  may  we  receive, 
and  grace  for  grace ! 


LECTURE  V. 


DEATH  OF  ADAM-BIRTH  OF  SETH,  &c. 

And  Adam  lived  an  hundred  and  thirty  years,  and  begat  a  son  in  his 
own  likeness,  after  his  image;  and  called  his  name  Seth.  And  the 
days  of  Adam,  after  he  had  begotten  Seth,  were  eight  hundred  years ; 
and  he  begat  sons  and  daughters.  And  all  the  days  that  Adam 
lived  were  nine  hundred  and  thirty  years :  and  he  died.  And  Seth 
lived  an  hundred  and  five  years,  and  begat  Enos.  And  Seth  lived, 
after  he  begat  Enos,  eight  hundred  and  seven  years,  and  begat  sons 
and  daughters.  And  all  the  days  of  Seth  were  nine  hundred  and 
twelve  years :  and  he  died. — Gen.  v.  3-8. 

The  descendants  of  fallen  Adam  are,  universally, 
degenerate  plants  of  a  strange  vine.  Divine  grace, 
however,  has,  from  the  beginning,  been  marvellously 
manifested  in  calling  and  sanctifying  a  people,  a  pe- 
culiar people,  zealous  of  good  works,  and  disposed  to 
lionour  and  serve  the  living  and  true  God.     The  dis- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  49 

tinction  of  righteous  and  wicked  obtained  in  tlie  days 
of  Cain  and  Abel;  and  the  Bible,  in  giving  ns  a 
faithful  history  of  mankind,  as,  also,  of  the  providence 
and  mercy  of  Heaven  towards  them,  affords  us  some 
concise  notices  of  both  these  classes.  Of  the  wicked, 
we  have  information  so  far  only  as  their  general  cha- 
racter had  a  bearing  on  the  interests  of  society,  and 
as  their  bad  conduct  and  unhappy  end  furnish  a  so- 
lemn warning  to  all  the  world,  that  ^'  the  wages  of 
sin  is  death. ^^ 

When  Cain  by  evincing  his  unbelief  in  the  pro- 
mised Saviour,  as  well  as  by  murdering  his  brother, 
incurred  the  divine  displeasure  and  proved  himself  to 
be  ^'of  the  wicked  one,"  he  appears  to  have  aban- 
doned the  worship  of  God  and  the  society  of  his  peo- 
ple. Retiring  to  the  eastward  of  Eden,  he  took  up 
his  abode  in  a  place  called  the  land  of  Nod,  a  name 
which  signifies  vagabond,  and  which  seems  to  liave 
been  so  called,  in  allusion  to  his  character,  as  a  fugi- 
tive and  outcast  from  the  ordinances  of  God,  and  the 
fellowship  of  the  pious.  Here  he  built  a  city,  and 
called  it  Enoch,  in  honour  of  his  first  born  son.  At'ter 
Enoch  we  have  barely  the  names  of  Irad,  Mehujael, 
and  Methusael,  without  any  account  of  their  charac- 
ter, or  pursuits.  Lamech,  the  son  of  Methusael,  and 
the  fifth  in  descent  from  Cain,  was  the  first  transgres- 
sor of  the  law  respecting  marriage.  He  had  two 
wives,  at  the  same  time;  and,  though  his  example 
was  followed  by  Abraham,  Jacob,  and  others,  who 
appear  to  have  been,  in  the  main,  amiable  and  excel- 
lent men,  yet  the  practice  is  manifestly  an  infraction 
of  the  law  of  nature,  and  an  unwarrantable  depart- 
ure from  the  original  and  benevolent  institution  of  the 
Creator.  The  fact,  that  instances  of  polygamy  are  re- 
corded in  Scripture,  by  no  means  proves  that  it  was 
right:  nay,  we  are  taught, even  in  the  Old  Testament, 
indirectly,  at  least,  that  it  was  wrong;  as  it  was,  in- 
variably, a  source  of  family  feuds,  favouritism,  jeal- 
ousy, and  other  serious  and  distressing  evils.  The 
names  of  Lamech's  wives  were  Adah  and  Zillah. 
The  former  had  two  sons,  viz;  Jabal,  who  seems  to 
5 


50  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

have  made  such  improvements  in  the  shepherd's  oc- 
cupation, that  he  was  distinguished,  as  "the  father,  or 
instructor  of  sucfi  as  dwell  in  tents  and  have  the  care 
of  cattle:"  and  Jubal,  "the  father  of  all  such  as  han- 
dle the  harp  and  organ:"  i.e.  the  inventor  of  such 
inusical  instruments  as  were  used  in  those  early  ages. 
Zillah  had  a  son  and  a  daughter:  viz.  Tubal-cain, 
"an  instructer  of  every  artificer  in  brass  and  iron:" 
i.  e.  one  who  introduced  useful  improvements  in  the 
implements  of  husbandry,  and  who,  probably,  inven- 
ted some  of  the  first  weapons  of  war,  which  are  form- 
ed out  of  the  hard  metals:  and  the  sister  of  Tubal- 
cain  was  Naamah. 

Lamech's  speech  to  his  wives,  on  a  certain  occa- 
sion, is  supposed  to  contain  a  difficulty:  "Hear  my 
voice,  ye  wives  of  Lamech,  hearken  unto  my  speech, 
for  I  have  slain  a  man  to  my  wounding  and  a  young 
man  to  my  hurt."  Gen.  iv.  2,  3.  Whatever  difficulty 
may  be  in  this  passage,  it  can  be  of  no  great  impor- 
tance, as  it  does  not  relate  either  to  any  doctrine 
which  we  are  to  believe,  or  to  any  duty  which  we  are 
to  perform.  The  sentence  is  abrupt,  and  evidently 
elliptical,  more  being  implied  than  is  expressed.  The 
family  seems  to  have  been  agitated  and  unhappy 
from  some  cause  or  other.  Perhaps,  conscious  of  their 
guilt,  they  began  to  express  their  fears  to  one  another, 
that  the  judgments  of  God  might  one  day  overtake 
them.  Hereupon  Lamech,  either  in  a  fit  of  anger,  or 
with  a  view  to  quiet  their  fears,  by  vindicating  his 
past  conduct,  and  by  quoting  the  supposed  impunity 
of  Cain,  their  wicked  ancestor,  interposes  his  author- 
ity, and  commands  attention  to  what  he  was  about 
to  say,  which  I  suppose  might  be  paraphrased  thus: 
Dismiss  your  groundless  apprehensions  of  the  Divine 
judgments.  If  there  be  a  God,  he  is  not  strict  to 
mark  iniquity:  and  admitting  we  have  our  failings 
and  have  done  some  wrong  things,  we  are  not  greater 
sinners  than  some  of  our  neighbours:  We  shall,  there- 
fore, fare  as  well  as  most  other  people.  Have  1  been 
guilty  of  any  heinous  crime?  Have  I  slain  a  man, 
that  I  should  be  wounded,  or  a  youth  that  I  should 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  51 

be  hurt?  If  Cain,  wlio  committed  fratricide  shall  be 
avenged  seven-fold,  trnly  Lamecli,  who  has  never 
been  guilty  of  so  great  a  crime,  shall  be  still  more 
secure.  Should  any  one  attempt  to  injure  or  disturb 
him,  he  shall  be  avenged  of  his  adversary,  seventy 
and  seven-fold.  Here  the  sacred  historian  closes  his 
account  of  the  descendants  of  Cain;  and  we  hear  no 
more  of  them,  except  incidentally,  in  the  history  of 
progressive  wickedness,  which  provoked  that  tremen- 
dous expression  of  Heaven's  hatred  of  sin,  the  deluge. 
Our  attention  is  next  directed  to  another,  and  a 
more  hopeful  branch  of  the  human  family.  Abel 
had  fallen  by  the  hand  of  violence — and,  with  him, 
the  chief  earthly  comfort  of  our  first  parents,  and  the 
hope  of  the  world  seemed  to  have  perished.  But 
that  (he  purpose  of  God  might  stand,  and  that  there 
might  be  a  seed  to  serve  him  on  the  earth,  Seth  was 
born  unto  Adam,  in  the  hundred  and  thirtieth  year  of 
his  life.  This  son,  designed  as  a  substitute  for  Abel, 
and  as  the  first  link  in  the  long  chain  of  our  Lord's 
progenitors,  "as  concerning  the  flesh,"  is  said  to  have 
been  begotten  by  Adam,  "in  his  own  likeness  and 
after  his  image;"  an  image  differing  widely  from  that, 
in  which  Adam  came  from  the  immaculate  hand  of 
God.  Had  the  first  man  retained  his  original  integrity, 
his  offspring  would,  of  course,  have  inherited  his  mo- 
ral purity;  but  having  become  a  sinner,  his  children 
must,  by  parity  of  reason,  be  conceived  in  sin,  and 
brought  forth  in  iniquity.  Human  depravity  is  pro- 
pagated by  a  universal  law  of  procreation;  i.  e.  in 
every  species  of  creatures  continued,  by  a  series  of 
generations,  the  offspring  possesses  the  specific  quali- 
ties of  the  parent  stock.  And  this  law  operates  as 
certainly  and  uniformly  upon  moral  and  accountable 
beings,  as  it  does  either  in  the  vegetable  kingdom,  or 
among  the  various  orders  of  animals.  Hence  we 
learn,  that,  though,  as  we  have  reason  to  hope  Adam 
was  pardoned  and  saved,  through  the  grace  of  the 
Redeemer,  yet  having  become  a  transgressor  before 
he  was  a  father,  his  children  were  all  born  in  sin  ; 
and  if  Abel  and  Seth  were  pious  and  righteous  men, 


52  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

divine  ^race,  and  not  their  natural  disposition,  made 
thenn  ditfer  from  Cain  the  vagabond  and  the  mur- 
derer. And  to  the  same  cause  are  we  to  attribute 
the  difference  between  the  saint  and  the  sinner,  in  all 
ages  of  the  world.  Sm  is  hereditary ;  it  is  interwoven 
in  our  very  nature,  pervades  our  entire  moral  system, 
and  is,  therefore,  propagated  from  generation  to  gene- 
ration. But  piety,  or  true  holiness  is  owing,  solely, 
to  a  divine  and  gracious  influence  upon  the  heart:  it 
is,  in  fact,  supernatural;  i.  e.  foreign  to  our  fallen 
nature:  and,  it  cannot,  therefore,  be  transmitted  to 
posterity  by  any  law  of  ordinary  generation.  Sup- 
posing Adam  to  have  been  a  good  man,  a  subject  of 
saving  grace,  when  he  begat  Seth,  he  could  not  con- 
vey his  goodness  to  his  son,  for  this  obvious  reason — 
it  was  not  an  essential,  but  a  superinduced  quality  of 
his  regenerate  nature.  Indeed,  most  of  Seth's  des- 
cendants, as  well  as  those  of  Cain,  gave  unequivocal 
proofs,  in  process  of  time,  that  they  bore  the  image 
and  likeness  of  a  corrupt  and  sadly  dilapidated  nature. 
And  it  is  a  mournful  and  undeniable  fact  that  pious 
fathers  and  mothers  are,  in  many  instances,  the  parents 
of  ungodly  children.  Yes,  readers,  the  image  of  apos- 
tate Adam  is  the  wretched  inheritance  which  we  entail 
upon  our  beloved  offspring:  let  us  spare  no  pains  to 
bring  them  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord,  and  while  we  live,  let  us  not  cease  to  entreat 
the  God  of  all  grace,  that  he  would  impress  upon 
their  hearts  the  image  and  likeness  of  the  heavenly 
Redeemer. 

The  birth  of  Enos,  the  son  of  Seth,  took  place  about 
the  year  of  the  world  two  hundred  and  thirty-five. 
In  his  time,  it  is  said,  men  began  to  call  on  the  name 
of  the  Lord;  or,  more  properly,  then  began  men  to 
call  tliemselves  by  the  name  of  the  Lord.  As  one  of 
tiie  objects  had  in  view,  in  these  lectures,  is  to  ascer- 
tain tlie  church  of  God,  observe  its  growth,  and  notice 
the  changes  which  were  made,  from  time  to  time,  in 
its  visible  form  and  rites  of  worship,  the  age  of  P^nos 
is  worthy  of  some  regard.  It  is  evident  that  God  was 
worshipped   before  this  time,  by  the   use  of  thank- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  53 

offeringvS  and  expiatory  sacrificos,  as  we  liave  seen  in 
the  history  of  Cain  and  Abel.  These  services  inchided 
prayer  and  praise,  with  conlession  of  sin  and  a  pro- 
fession of  fliith,  and  hope  in  the  promised  Redeemer. 
Hitherto  divine  worship  seems  to  have  been  confined 
to  the  family  ahar.  Every  pions  head  of  a  family 
officiated  as  priest  in  liis  own  honse,  teaching  his 
children,  praying  and  praising  God  with  them,  and 
offering,  on  their  behalf,  the  stated  and  prescribed 
oblation.  And  mnch  is  it  to  be  lamented,  that  this 
primitive  mode  of  acknowledging  God  as  tlie  kind 
preserver  and  gracious  benefactor  of  our  families,  is 
so  generally  laid  aside.  It  is  a  neglect  of  duty  for 
which  no  apology  can  be  offered;  it  borders  closely 
on  practical  atheism,  or  living  without  God  in  the 
woild;  and  there  is  a  fearful  doom  denounced  in 
Scripture  against  the  families  that  call  not  on  God's 
name.  Jer.  x.  25. 

In  the  days  of  Enos,  mankind  had  multiplied  con- 
siderably, (for  we  are  not  to  suppose  that  the  Bible 
gives  us  the  names  of  all  the  people  then  living,)  and 
with  the  increase  of  population,  there  was  no  doubt 
an  increase  of  wickedness.  Hence  it  became  neces- 
sary, for  those  who  feared  God  and  loved  the  institu- 
tions of  his  worship,  to  associate  for  the  maintenance 
of  truth  and  piety;  to  form  a  religious  community  dis- 
tinct from  the  ungodly  and  the  profane.  Thus  sepa- 
rated unto  God,  and  meeting  statedly,  on  the  Sabbath, 
for  the  performance  of  religious  service,  they,  as  a 
body,  either  called  themselves,  or  were  designated  by 
others,  in  a  way  of  derision,  "the  sons  of  God;'^  as 
we  find  them,  in  the  next  chapter,  distinguished  by 
that  title,  from  the  family  of  Cain,  and  others  who 
followed  their  bad  example.  It  is  also  probable,  that 
some  additions  or  modifications  were  now  made  in  the 
rites  of  religious  worship;  but  what  they  were,  we  are 
not  told  in  the  Bible,  and  therefore  have  no  means  of 
ascertaining.  As  there  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
any  particular  order  of  men  set  apart,  as  yet,  to  the 
priests'  office,  we  naturally  conclude  that  tlieir  religi- 
ous ritual  was  simple,  and  that  their  ecclesiastical 
5* 


54  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

government,  like  their  civil  polity,  was  patriarchal. 
Here  then,  was  the  visible  church,  in  its  infancy;  a 
seed  to  serve  the  Lord;  a  people  distinguished  and 
recognized  as  the  sons  of  God,  united,  and  adhering 
to  the  service  of  Jehovah;  bearing  testimony  against 
infidelity,  idolatry,  and  all  the  works  of  darkness. 
And  it  seems  probable  that  Seth  and  his  seven  des- 
cendants, whose  names  are  recorded  in  holy  writ, 
with  many  of  their  famiUes  for  several  generations, 
were  church  members,  and  gave  evidence  that  they 
were  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works. 

Of  Enoch,  the  son  of  Jared,  the  sacred  historian 
gives  a  most  amiable  and  exalted  character,  in  four 
words:  "He  walked  with  God."  And  for  his  emi- 
nent piety,  he  was  indulged  the  rare  privilege  of  an 
early  and  deathless  removal  from  this  vale  of  tears. 
"  God  took  him.''  "  By  faith,  Enoch  was  translated 
that  he  should  not  see  deatli;  and  was  not  found,  be- 
cause God  had  translated  him;  for,  before  his  transla- 
tion, he  had  this  testimony,  that  he  pleased  God." 
Heb.  xi.  5.  "  Blessed  are  they  whose  God  is  the 
Lord!"  Thrice  blessed,  they  who  love  his  service, 
think  upon  his  name,  and  keep  his  testimonies, 
hearkening  unto  the  voice  of  his  word!  Be  it  our 
glory,  readers,  to  be  called  by  his  name,  and  our  care 
to  walk  worthy  our  high  vocation.  "Behold  what 
manner  of  love  the  Father  hath  bestowed  on  us,  that 
we  should  be  called  the  sons  of  God  !"  Surely  it 
cannot  be  less  the  duty  and  the  privilege  of  men  to 
call  themselves  by  the  name  of  the  Lord  now-a-days, 
than  it  was  in  the  days  of  Enos.  The  church  is  the 
glory  of  the  whole  earth;  a  blessing  is  in  her;  the 
oracles  of  truth,  with  their  infallible  counsels  and 
comforts;  the  covenant  of  mercy,  with  its  seals  and 
promises;  the  charter  of  immortality;  the  tree  of  life; 
the  throne  of  grace,  and  the  blood  of  sprinkling  which 
speaketh  better  things  than  that  of  Abel.  Let  no 
sinner  be  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  Christ;  it  is  the 
power  of  God  unto  salvation.  The  world  lieth  in 
wickedness;  and  the  Lord  hath  set  apart  him  that  is 
godly  for  himself.     The  workers  of  iniquity  shall  be 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  55 

destroyed,  though  hand  join  in  hand.  The  chnrch  of 
God  is  a  visible  and  consecrated  community,  governed 
by  holy  laws  and  fed  with  bread  from  heaven.  It 
has  its  precepts,  its  promises,  and  ordinances,  to  which 
every  sinner,  who  hears  the  glad  tidings,  should  sub- 
mit thankfully,  without  regard  to  the  fear  or  favour 
of  man.  '^  What  agreement  (saith  the  apostle)  hath 
the  temple  of  God  with  idols.?  for  ye  are  the  temple 
of  the  living  God;  as  God  hath  said,  I  will  dwell  in 
them,  and  walk  in  them;  and  I  will  be  their  God,  and 
they  shall  be  my  people:  Wherefore  come  out  from 
among  them,  and  be  ye  separate,  saith  the  Lord,  and 
touch  not  the  unclean  thing;  and  I  will  receive  3^ou; 
and  will  be  a  Father  unto  you,  and  ye  shall  be  my 
sons  and  daughters,  saith  the  Lord  Almighty.'^  2  Cor. 
vi.  16-lS. 

"And  all  the  days  that  Adam  lived,  were  nine 
hundred  and  thirty  years,  and  he  died;  and  all  the 
days  of  Seth  were  nine  hundred  and  twelve  years, 
and  he  died.'' 

The  great  age  to  Avhich  many  of  the  antediluvians 
jived,  appears  very  extraordinary  to  us,  whose  term 
of  continuance  here  below,  is  but  as  a  dream  when 
one  awaketh.  Seth  and  his  descendants,  whose 
names  are  recorded  in  Scripture,  with  the  exception 
of  Enoch,  who  was  translated,  at  the  age  of  three 
hundred  and  sixty-five,  lived  from  seven  hundred  and 
seventy-five,  to  nine  hundred  and  sixty-nine  years; 
on  an  average,  twelve  times  three  score  and  ten.  So 
that  Adam,  who  lived  to  within  seven  hundred  and 
twenty-six  years  of  the  flood,  may  have  seen  his  de- 
scendants to  the  twentieth  generation.  This  was  a 
longevity  truly  astonishing;  yet,  it  is  indubitable:  the 
fact,  we  admit,  on  the  testimony  of  God,  by  the  min- 
istry of  Moses,  corroborated  by  the  suftVages  of  seve- 
ral of  the  oldest,  and  most  credible  profane  writers, 
with  whose  works  we  liave  any  acquaintance.  Ma- 
netho,  Berosus,  Hesiod,  and  Hecata^us  and  others,  as 
Josephus  informs  us,  generally  agreed  that  the  ancients 
lived  about  a  thousand  years.  It  were  absurd  to 
make  the  years  of  Moses  lunar  years,  or  months,  as 


56  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

some  fancy  we  slioiild  do.  Tliis  liypothesis,  while  it 
miglit  help  us  out  of  one  difficulty,  would  involve  us 
in  at  least  three,  viz:  "First,  this  calculation  reduces 
their  lives  to  a  shorter  period  than  our  own :  Secondly, 
some  of  them  must  have  been  fathers  under,  or  about 
six  years  of  age:  and  thirdly,  it  contracts  the  interval 
between  the  creation  and  the  flood  to  less  than  a 
hundred  and  fifty  years.''*  It  is  impossible  for  us  to 
account  for  this  extraordinary  longevity,  on  any  natu- 
ral, or  philosophical  principles.  It  has  been  ascribed 
to  their  plain  diet;  to  the  excellence  of  their  vegeta- 
bles and  fruits;  to  the  disuse  of  animal  food;  to  the 
healthfulness  of  their  atmosphere;  to  the  vigorous 
organization  of  their  bodies;  the  strength  of  their 
stamina,  &c.  But  these  causes  are  all  imaginary  and 
inadequate  to  the  effect.  We  resolve  it  into  the  good 
pleasure  of  the  Creator.  And  it  was  an  appointed 
means  of  peopling  the  world,  in  its  infancy.  True, 
it  gave  an  opportunity  for  the  rapid  growth  of  im- 
piety; as  the  event  proved.  And,  we  cannot,  there- 
fore, but  regard  the  present  reduced  term  of  human 
life,  as  a  wise  and  merciful  arrangement  of  Provi- 
dence. Life  is  still  long  enough  to  aftbrd  us  an 
opportunity  of  preparing  for  eternity;  and  this  is  the 
great  purpose  for  which  it  is  given.  To  the  pious, 
it  is  better,  if  tlie  Lord  will,  to  depart  and  be  with 
Christ;  and  to  the  wicked,  a  protracted  term  of  pro- 
bation is,  in  many  instances,  through  their  own  fault, 
an  occasion  of  aggravated  guilt  and  awfnl  condemna- 
tion. But  liow  forcibly  do  the  comparative  brevity  and 
great  uncertainty  of  this  life  urge  us  to  make  prepara- 
tion speedily,  for  that  which  is  to  come  !  Hear  the 
Scripture:  Set  your  aflection  on  things  above  ;  not 
on  things  that  are  on  the  earth.  Give  all  diligence  to 
make  your  calling  and  election  sure.  Work  out  your 
own  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling.  Whatsoever 
thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might.  What 
is  thy  life?  A  vapour  that  appeareth  for  a  little 
while,  and  then  vanisheth  away.     Behold  !  now  is 

*  Sec  Dr.  CoUiycr's  Lectures  on  Scripture  Facts. 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  57 

the  accepted   time;   beholLl,  now  is  the  day  of  sal- 
vation ! 

Reader,  do  you  beheve  these  sayings  of  the  Holy 
Ghost?  Do  you  tliink  much,  and  pray  much  con- 
cerning them?  If  you  receive  the  Bible,  as  the  word 
of  God,  you  know  and  acknowledge  that  you  are 
going  into  a  future  state,  where  you  will  be  either 
happy,  or  miserable  for  ever.  What  provision  have 
you  made  for  an  exchange  of  worlds  ?  You  have  a 
hope;  on  what  is  it  founded?  Have  you  peace  with 
God,  through  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus?  Then  may 
you  say,  with  Paul  the  apostle:  To  me  to  live  is 
Christ;  and  to  die  is  gain.  "Lord,  so  teach  us  to 
number  our  days,  that  we  may  apply  our  hearts  unto 
wisdom  !'^ 


LECTURE  VL 


THE  DELUGE. 


And  the  Lord  said  unto  Noah,  Come  thou,  and  all  thy  house,  into 
the  ark  :  for  thee  have  I  seen  rigliteous  before  ine  in  this  genera- 
tion. Of  every  clean  beast  thou  shalt  take  to  thee  by  sevens,  the 
male  and  his  female;  and  of  beasts  that  are  not  elean  by  two,  the 
male  and  his  female.  Of  fowls  also  of  the  air  by  sevens,  the  male 
and  the  female ;  to  keep  seed  alive  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth. 
For  yet  seven  days,  and  I  will  cause  it  to  rain  upon  the  earth  forty 
days  and  forty  nights  :  and  every  living  substance  that  I  have  made 
will  I  destroy  from  off  the  face  of  the  earth.  And  Noah  did  ac- 
cording  unto  all  that  the  Lord  commanded  him.  And  Noah  was 
six  hundred  years  old  when  the  flood  of  waters  was  upon  the 
earth. — Gen.  vii.  1-6. 

That  portion  of  biblical  history  which  is  to  form  the 
basis  of  the  ensuing  lecture,  gives  us  an  account  of 
the  Deluge,  the  most  awful  indication  of  God's  ab- 
horrence of  sin  that  ever  was  exhibited  on  this  globe. 
According  to  the  most  generally  received  chronology, 


-58  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

this  tremendous  catastrophe  took  place  one  thousand 
six  hundred  and  fifty-six  years  after  the  creation  of 
the  world,  and  in  the  six  hundredth  year  of  Noah's 
Hfe.  In  attending  to  the  subject,  it  will  be  proper  to 
notice — first,  the  excessive  wickedness,  which  ren- 
dered so  fearful  a  judgment  necessary;  secondly,  the 
time  afforded  to  the  ungodly  for  repentance,  and  the 
means  employed  for  their  reformation;  thirdly,  the 
method  adopted  to  preserve  a  seed  to  replenish  the 
new  world;  and,  finally,  the  practical  lesson  which 
the  whole  matter  is  calculated  to  impress  upon  our 
minds. 

When  we  take  into  view  tlie  great  age  to  which 
men  lived  before  the  flood,  we  cannot  but  adn)it  that 
the  population  of  the  world  must  have  increased  very 
rapidly.  And,  after  the  apostasy  of  our  race,  the 
growth  of  wickedness  would  naturally  keep  pace 
with  the  multiplication  of  mankind.  Adam  himself, 
who  lived  to  tlie  age  of  nine  hundred  and  thirty  years, 
must  have  seen  a  numerous  and  depraved  posterity. 
The  family  of  Cain,  as  has  been  observed  in  a  pre- 
ceding lecture,  were  extremely  abandoned.  With- 
drawing from  the  society  of  the  pious,  and  neglecting 
the  instituted  worship  of  the  true  God,  they  soon  be- 
came vain  in  their  imagination,  licentious  in  their 
manners,  and,  whatever  form  of  religion  they  main- 
tained, it  was  no  doubt  idolatrous.  In  the  descend- 
ants of  Seth,  God  had  a  seed  to  serve  him,  a  people 
for  his  praise,  to  whom  he  vouchsafed  the  oracles  of 
truth,  and  the  influence  of  his  grace.  Among  these 
many  appear,  for  a  considerable  time,  to  have  re- 
proved the  works  of  darkness,  and  to  have  maintained 
a  deportment  worthy  their  high  vocation.  But,  alas  ! 
how  difficult  it  is,  by  reason  of  the  depraved  bias  of 
our  nature,  to  "keep  ourselves  unspotted  from  the 
world."  The  Sethites,  called  by  way  of  religious 
distinction  "the  sons  of  God,"  began,  in  process  of 
time,  to  hold  converse,  and  to  form  intimate  con- 
nexions with  the  degenerate  offspring  of  Cain;  and, 
as  is  uniformly  the  case,  this  unwarrantable  inter- 
course with  the  wicked  led  to  a  participation  in  their 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  59 

evil  deeds.  Interinr\rria2:es  with  the  ungodly  arc  par- 
ticiilarly  mentioned  by  Moses,  as  one  cause  of  tliat 
profligacy  of  morals  which  provoked  the  Ahiiighty  to 
demoHsli  the  work  of  his  hand  by  a  dehige.  "The 
sons  of  God  saw  the  daughters  of  men,  that  they  were 
fair;  and  they  took  them  wives  of  all  which  they 
chose."  Thus  the  professed  worshippers  of  Jehovah, 
instead  of  maintaining  a  holy  singularity,  began  to 
lose  sight  of  their  sacred  character,  and  to  indulge 
their  sensual  desires,  till  at  length,  dropping  one  dis- 
tinction after  another,  they  became  conformed  to  this 
world.  The  salt  of  the  earth  lost  its  savour.  The 
hands  of  the  wicked  were  strengthened ;  piety  de- 
clined, and  sin  triumphed.  The  oflspring  of  these 
unlawful  marriages  would,  of  course,  be  still  more 
abandoned  than  their  corrupt  parents.  Many  of  them 
were,  no  doubt,  giants  in  impiety,  as  well  as  in  sta- 
ture. Freed  from  the  salutary  restraints  of  an  enlight- 
ened and  faithful  conscience,  unawed  by  parental 
gravity  or  religious  example,  they  committed  sin  with 
greediness,  and  ripened  apace  for  destruction. 

Let  us  be  thankful,  readers,  for  that  measure  of 
Christian  influence  which  prevails  in  the  community 
where  it  is  our  lot  to  reside.  "  Evil  communica- 
tions corrupt  good  manners."  Let  those  young  per- 
sons, therefore,  who  have  been  baptized  into  Christ, 
and  who  hope  for  heaven  through  his  merits,  beware 
of  forming  ungodly  connexions;  especially,  let  them 
not  be  "unequally  yoked  with  unbelievers."  "He 
that  is  joined  to  the  Lord  is  one  spirit."  "But  what 
fellowship  hath  light  with  darkness,  or  Christ  with 
Belial?" 

But  we  proceed,  secondly,  to  notice  the  forbearance 
of  Heaven,  in  affording  to  the  wicked  time  and  space 
for  repentance,  even  when  the  measure  of  their  ini- 
quity appeared  to  be  full.  When  God  saw  that  the 
wickedness  of  man  was  great  in  the  earth;  that  every 
imagination  of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  was  only  evil 
continually;  that  all  flesh  had  corrupted  his  way,  and 
that  the  earth  was  filled  with  violence;  when  the 
divine  Majesty  was  openly  insulted,  and  sin  stalked 


60  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

abroad  with  the  most  daring  effrontery,  He  who  takes 
no  pleasure  in  tlie  ruin  of  the  wicked,  manifested  a 
wiUingness  to  wait,  and  to  be  gracious.  On  his  an- 
nouncing the  day  of  vengeance,  for  the  vindication  of 
his  autliority,  he  publishes  a  respite:  mercy  is  min- 
gled with  judgment — the  warning  voice  precedes  the 
stroke  of  justice.  "And  the  Lord  said,  My  spirit  shall 
not  always  strive  with  man;  for  that,  he  also  is  flesh: 
yet  his  days  shall  be  an  hundred  and  twenty  years." 
During  this  term  of  probation,  various  means  were 
nsed  to  bring  about  a  retbrmation,  and  ward  off  the 
impending  storm.  Noah,  and  no  doubt  otlier  preach- 
ers of  righteousness,  remonstrated;  the  Spirit  strove, 
and  the  providence  of  God  gave  indubitable  signs  of 
approaching  judgment.  But  all  to  no  purpose.  Evil 
men  waxed  worse  and  worse;  scoffers  multiplied; 
hand  joined  hand  in  striving  against  God;  and  be- 
cause sentence  against  their  crimes  was  not  executed 
speedily,  therefore,  their  hearts  were  fully  set  in  them 
to  do  wickedly.  Divine  compassion  expostulates;  the 
great  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  even  in  taking  hold 
of  judgment,  for  the  support  of  rightful  authority,  dis- 
covers parental  pity,  and  reluctance  to  punish:  "And 
it  repented  the  Lord  that  he  had  made  man  on  earth, 
and  it  grieved  him  at  his  heart."  Strictly  speaking, 
it  is  impossible  that  God  should  repent.  He  is  un- 
changeable alike  in  his  nature  and  counsels.  "In 
him  is  no  variableness  or  shadow  of  turning."  His 
measures  are  all  taken  in  perfect  wisdom,  and  he  is 
completely  self-suflicient;  he  cannot  therefore,  be  lia- 
ble to  either  grief,  or  disappointment.  The  expression 
before  us,  therefore,  is  obviously  used,  after  the  manner 
of  man,  to  indicate  God's  irreconcilable  hatred  of  sin, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  show,  tiiat  he  commiserates 
the  sinner  whose  punishment  is  demanded  by  justice. 
The  term  of  probation  drawing  towards  a  close,  the 
Lord  reveals  more  clearly  his  determination  to  dis- 
play his  power  in  the  utter  overthrow  of  those  who 
continued  to  despise  his  grace.  But  that  his  purpose 
of  mercy  towards  the  human  race  might  stand  fast 
amidst  the  wreck  and  ruin  of  the  ungodly,  a  seed  is 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  61 

to  be  preserved  to  replenish  the  earth,  after  it  shall 
have  been  washed  by  the  waters  of  a  flood.  The 
method  adopted  for  this  end  is  the  third  particular 
that  claims  our  notice. 

Thirdly:  "And  God  said  unto  Noah,  The  end  of  all 
flesh  is  come  before  me;  for  the  earth  is  filled  with 
violence  through  them;  and,  behold  I  will  destroy 
them  with  the  earth.  Make  thee  an  ark  of  gopher- 
wood:  rooms  shalt  thou  make  in  the  ark,  and  shalt 
pitch  it  within  and  without  with  pitch. ^^  The  ark 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  formed  for  travelling, 
but  merely  to  float  on  the  surface,  and  afl*ord  shelter 
for  its  inhabitants,  during  the  prevalence  of  the 
waters.  By  the  gopher-wood  of  which  it  was  com-^ 
posed,  is  generally  understood  the  cypress,  as  being 
the  firmest  and  most  suitable,  then  known,  to  resist 
the  violence  of  the  weather.  Whether  it  resembled 
a  ship,  or  was  flat-bottomed  and  rectangular,  is  al- 
together undetermined  by  the  sacred  historian.  But, 
as  it  was  intended  to  rise  with  the  gradual  rise  of  the 
water,  and  to  rest  again  wherever  divine  providence 
should  see  fit,  we  incline  to  the  latter  opinion,  as  the 
more  probable  of  the  two.  Moses  gives  us  its  di- 
mensions, as  prescribed  by  God  himself.  Its  length 
was  three  hundred  cubits;  its  width  fifty,  and  its 
height  thirty.  There  were  two  sorts  of  cubits  in 
use  among  the  Jews,  diflering  in  length  about  four 
inches.  If  we  compute  the  capacity  of  the  ark  by 
the  shorter  cubit,  which  was  IS  inches,  we  shall  find 
it  to  have  been  450  feet  long,  75  wide,  and  45  high; 
if  by  the  longer,  which  was  22  inches,  the  result 
would  be  547  feet  in  length,  91  in  width,  and  54  in 
height:  and  its  solid  contents  would  be  upwards  of 
2,730,781  feet.  The  learned  and  ingenious  Dr.  Ar- 
buthnot  computes  it  to  have  been  a  vessel  of  eighty- 
one  thousand  and  sixty-two  tons  burden.  When 
completed  and  stored  with  provisions  suflicient  for  its 
intended  inhabitants,  Noah  and  his  family,  eight  in 
number,  were  required  to  enter  it,  taking  with  them 
of  every  clean  beast,  i.  e.  such  as  was  allowed  to  be 
used  in  sacrifice,  bv  sevens,  either  seven  individuals 
6 


62  LECTURES    OX    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

or  seven   pair;   and  of  unclean  one  pair  of  every 
kind. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remark  that  land  animals 
only  would  be  taken  into  the  ark,  as  the  others  would 
still  be  in  their  native  element.  But  was  there  room 
in  the  ark,  capacious  as  it  was,  for  so  vast  a  variety 
of  animals,  together  with  food  enough  to  serve  them 
for  a  whole  year?  This  has  been  questioned,  with- 
out due  consideration,  I  apprehend,  by  some  who 
take  the  liberty  of  doubting  almost  every  thing  con- 
tained in  the  Bible.  We  are  not  prepared  to  speak, 
with  great  confidence,  in  regard  to  the  room  which 
one  pair  of  all  kinds  of  land  animals  would  occupy. 
As  to  those  that  were  used  in  sacrifice,  the  number  of 
species  was  so  small,  that  seven  pair  of  each  could 
have  taken  up  but  a  small  share  of  room.  And  the 
others  will  not  be  found,  on  accurate  inquiry,  half  so 
numerous,  or  to  need  near  so  much  room,  as  at  first 
view  we  are  liable  to  imagine.  A  respectable  writer 
of  Great  Britain,  we  mean  Bishop  Wilkins,  has  in- 
vestigated this  subject  with  great  care  and  labour,  and 
he,  as  well  as  several  other  writers  that  might  be  men- 
tioned, has  made  it  pretty  evident  that  the  ark  was 
amply  capacious  to  answer  the  end  for  which  it  was 
constructed.  One  passage  in  his  "  Essay  towards  a 
Philosophical  Character  and  Language,"  is  worthy  of 
special  notice:  "The  capacity  of  the  ark  (says  he,) 
which  has  been  made  an  objection  against  Scripture, 
ought  to  be  esteemed  a  confirmation  of  its  divine  au- 
thority: since  in  those  ruder  ages,  men,  being  less 
versed  in  arts  and  philosophy,  were  more  obnoxious 
to  vulgar  prejudices  than  now;  so  that  had  it  been  a 
human  invention,  it  would  have  been  contrived  ac- 
cording to  those  wild  apprehensions  which  arise  from 
a  confused  and  general  view  of  things,  as  much  too 
big,  as  it  has  been  represented  too  little."  Should 
any  be  desirous  of  knowing  how  wild  and  ferocious 
beasts  and  birds  could  be  brought  within  the  sacred 
inclosure  of  the  ark,  we  would  observe,  that  as  notice 
of  the  deluge  was  given  more  than  a  century  before- 
hand, Noah  may  have  tamed,  or  secured  them  in 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  63 

some  way,  and  had  them  in  readiness,  wlien  the  time 
arrived  for  liim  and  them  to  be  shut  in  from  the 
general  ruin:  or,  should  this  be  deemed  improbable, 
it  will  not  be  denied,  that  He  who  gave  strength  to 
the  lion,  fierceness  to  the  tiger,  untameable  disposition 
to  the  bear,  and  subtlety  to  the  serpent,  could  with 
perfect  ease  incline  them  to  obey  his  will,  and  sub- 
serve the  ends  of  his  holy  and  all-controlling  provi- 
dence. 

It  has  been  made  a  question  whether  the  deluge 
was  universal,  i.  e.  whether  the  waters  covered  the 
entire  surface  of  the  earth.  We  have  no  hesitation 
in  takhig  the  affirmative  side  of  the  question.  The 
language  of  Moses  is  plain  and  unequivocal  on  this 
point.  "  The  waters  (says  he)  prevailed  exceedingly 
upon  the  earth;  and  all  the  high  hills  that  were  under 
the  whole  heaven  were  covered.  Fifteen  cubits  up- 
ward did  the  waters  prevail,  and  the  mountains  were 
covered;  and  all  flesh  died  that  moved  upon  the  earth; 
of  fowl,  and  of  cattle,  and  of  beast,  and  of  every  creep- 
ing thing,  and  every  man."  These  declarations  need 
no  exposition,  and  they  admit  of  no  evasion.  Indeed, 
on  the  supposition  of  a  partial  flood,  the  labour  and 
expense  of  an  ark  might  have  been  spared.  Noah 
and  company  might  have  removed  to  a  distant  region, 
with  far  less  apparent  danger  than  that  which  they 
encountered  in  the  ark.  But,  in  that  case,  the  un- 
godly would  very  soon  have  followed  in  his  train, 
however  much  they  had  derided  his  faith. 

That  the  deluge  was  universal,  is,  we  think,  ren- 
dered indubitable,  by  the  well  known  fact,  that  ves- 
tiges of  it  are  to  be  found  in  all  parts  of  the  known 
world.  In  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  and  America,  at  the 
greatest  distance  from  the  ocean,  far  beneath  the  sur- 
face, and  on  the  loftiest  mountains,  marine  substances 
are  to  be  seen,  which  bear  unimpeachable  and  incon- 
trovertible testimony  that  the  flood  was  there. 

But  where,  demands  the  sceptic,  could  water  be 
obtained  to  cover  the  whole  earth,  fifteen  cubits  above 
the  Alps  and  the  Andes?  In  the  central  abyss,  says 
Dr.  Burnet,  who  fancies  the  earth  resembled  an  eg^, 


64  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY-. 

and  that  its  exterior  covering  was  broken  at  the  de- 
luge, and  sunk  down  beneath  the  prevaiUng  waters. 
By  the  agency  of  a  comet,  says  the  ingenious  Whis- 
ton,  who  supposes  that  one  of  those  eccentric  bodies 
involved  the  earth  in  its  atmosphere,  whose  aqueous 
vapours  being  condensed  by  the  contact,  poured  down 
in  torrents  of  rain,  which  he  imagines  is  what  Moses 
intends  by  the  opening  of  the  windows  of  heaven. 
By  violent  earthquakes,  says  M.  de  la  Pry  me,  an  in- 
genious French  writer.  By  the  melting  of  the  ice  in 
the  polar  regions,  says  the  eloquent  St.  Pierre.  But 
however  curious  these  hypotheses  may  be,  they  are 
far  from  being  satisfactory.  Moses  mentions  two 
sources  whence  the  waters  came,  which,  we  think, 
are  quite  sufficient,  viz.  the  extraordinary  descent  of 
rain  for  forty  days  and  forty  nights,  and  the  breaking 
up  of  the  fountains  of  the  great  deep.  The  Almighty 
is  never  at  a  loss  for  means  to  accomplish  his  designs. 
He  who,  in  the  beginning,  said,  "  Let  there  be  light, 
and  light  was,"  and  who  made  the  world  by  the 
word  of  his  power,  could  readily  furnish  water  suffi- 
cient to  drown  its  inhabitants.  The  opening  of  the 
windows  of  heaven,  and  the  breaking  up  of  the  foun- 
tains of  the  great  deep  are,  in  our  opinion,  strong 
figurative  expressions,  intimating  the  fall  of  rain  unu- 
sually fast,  and  for  an  unparalleled  length  of  time. 
It  is  said,  the  waters  prevailed  for  a  hundred  and  fifty 
days ;  i.  e.  during  that  time  its  depth  increased,  and 
the  ark  rose  higher  and  higher  with  its  elect  inmates. 
Then  God  remembered  Noah,  and  caused  the  waters 
gradually  to  subside,  and  on  the  seventh  month,  and 
seventeenth  day  of  the  month,  the  ark,  by  divine 
guidance,  rested  on  Mount  Ararat,  a  noted  eminence 
in  the  mountains  of  Armenia,  between  the  Black  and 
the  Caspian  seas,  some  hundreds  of  miles  north-east 
of  Palestine.  Here  a  delightful  scene  ensues.  The 
tenth  month  showed  the  mountain  tops.  Yet,  forty 
days,  and  the  window  of  the  ark  is  opened.  First, 
the  raven  is  despatched ;  then  the  dove,  thrice ;  on 
her  second  return  she  brought  in  her  beak  an  olive 
branch  plucked  off,  from  which  it  would  readily  be 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  65 

inferred  that  the  waters  were  decreasing ;  and  from 
this  circumstance  the  oUve  branch  has  been  used  as 
the  emblem  of  peace  by  all  civilized  nations.  The 
three  missions  of  the  dove  were  marked  by  an  inter- 
val of  seven  days;  whence  it  would  seem,  that  Noah 
and  his  family  observed  the  weekly  Sabbath,  and 
performed  special  religious  service  on  that  day. 
"  And  in  the  second  month  (i.  e.  in  the  second  month 
from  the  beginning  of  the  next  year,)  and  on  the  27th 
day  of  the  month,  was  the  earth  dried.  And  God 
spake  unto  Noah,  saying,  Go  forth  of  the  ark,  tiiou 
and  thy  wife,  and  thy  sons,  and  thy  sons'  wives  with 
thee :  bring  forth  with  thee  every  living  thing  that  is 
with  thee  of  all  llesh,"  &c.  It  appears  that  Noah  was 
m  the  ark  one  entire  solar  year;  for  he  entered  it  on 
the  second  montii  of  the  six  hundredth  year  of  his  life, 
and  left  it  the  same  month  of  the  year  next  ensuing. 

In  regard  to  the  truth  of  the  Mosaic  account  of  the 
deluge,  there  cannot  be  a  rational  doubt  entertained 
by  any  one  who  considers,  candidly  and  dispassion- 
ately, the  mass  of  evidence  by  which  the  fact  is  sup- 
ported. On  this  point  we  with  pleasure  give  an 
extract  from  one  of  the  eloquent  Dr.  CoUyer's  Lec- 
tures on  Scripture  Facts :  "  Had  there  been  no  deluge, 
it  were  difficult  to  account  for  the  universal  traditions 
respecting  it ;  still  more  so,  to  explain  the  appearances 
presented  in  the  face  of  nature  itself.  It  was  impos- 
sible for  JNIoses  to  impose  the  belief  of  it  upon  the 
Jews,  appealing,  as  he  did,  to  the  names  found  in  the 
line  of  their  ancestors,  and  fixing  a  certain  era  for  this 
wonderful  event.  INI  any  of  them  were  well  acquaint- 
ed with  the  contemporaries  of  Joseph ;  Joseph  with 
the  particulars  of  Abraham's  life  ;  and  Abraham  lived 
in  the  days  of  the  sons  of  Noah.  Now  the  Jews  must 
have  received  traditionary  accounts  of  every  remarka- 
ble event,  handed  down  through  successive  generations 
in  other  channels  besides  the  writings  of  Moses.  Had 
his  history  clashed  with  these  traditions,  tiiey  could 
not  have  failed  to  observe  it ;  and  had  he  attempted 
to  impose  a  fable  upon  them,  they  could  not  have 
failed  to  detect  it.  And  such  a  detection  at  the  com- 
6* 


66  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

mencement  of  his  history,  could  not  have  failed  to 
weaken,  iii  the  minds  of  his  contemporaries  especially, 
the  authority  and  validity  of  the  whole."  And  the 
writer  might  have  added,  that,  on  this  supposition, 
the  Jews  would  have  utterly  rejected  the  mission  and 
writings  of  Moses,  which  all  the  world  knows  is  far 
from  being  the  fact. 

From  the  fearful  manifestation  of  divine  displeasure 
against  sin,  which  we  have  been  contemplating,  we 
may  learn  that  the  threatenings  of  Scripture,  no  less 
than  the  promises,  will  certainly  be  executed  in  due 
time:  for,  although  God  is  slow  to  anger  and  of  great 
kindness,  and  has  no  pleasure  in  the  misery  of  his 
creatures;  and  although  he  has  set  his  bow  in  the 
heavens,  and  promised,  by  covenant,  not  to  destroy 
the  world  again  by  water;  yet  has  he  pledged  his 
veracity,  that  those  who  discredit  his  word,  outrage 
his  authority,  and  despise  his  grace,  shall  not  go  un- 
punished. ^'  Upon  the  wicked  he  shall  rain  snares, 
fire  and  brimstone,  and  an  horrible  tempest:  this  shall 
be  the  portion  of  their  cup.'^  Psalm  xi.  6.  Reader, 
there  is  an  ark  of  safety:  believe  God,  come  to  Christ, 
and  you  shall  be  free  from  fear  of  evil. 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  67 


LECTURE  VII. 


THE    NOAHIC    COVENANT. 


And  God  spake  unto  Noah,  and  to  his  sons  with  him,  saying,  And 
I,  behold  I,  establish  my  covenant  with  you,  and  with  your  seed 
after  you;  and  with  every  living  creature  that  is  with  you,  of  the 
fowl,  of  the  cattle,  and  of  every  beast  of  the  earth  with  you ;  from 
all  that  go  out  of  the  ark,  to  every  beast  of  the  earth.  And  I  will 
establish  my  covenant  with  you ;  neither  shall  all  flesh  be  cut  off 
any  more  by  the  waters  of  a  flood ;  neither  shall  there  any  more 
be  a  flood  to  destroy  the  earth.  And  God  said,  This  is  the  token 
of  the  covenant  which  I  make  between  me  and  you,  and  every 
living  creature  that  is  with  you,  for  perpetual  generations :  I  do 
set  my  bow  in  the  cloud,  and  it  shall  be  for  a  token  of  the  covenant 
between  me  and  the  earth.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  I 
bring  a  cloud  over  the  earth  that  the  bow  shall  be  seen  in  the 
cloud :  and  I  will  remember  my  covenant  which  is  between  me 
and  you,  and  every  living  creature  of  all  flesh ;  and  the  waters  shall 
no  more  become  a  flood  to  destroy  all  flesh. — Gen,  ix.  8-15. 

The  situation  of  Noah  and  his  family,  immediately 
after  the  flood,  must  have  been  peculiarly  interesting. 
Preserved  by  a  kind  and  powerful  Providence,  in  the 
midst  of  desolation  and  death,  their  bosoms  could  not 
fail  to  swell  with  gratitude  to  the  gracious  author  of 
their  distinguishing  mercies.  The  only  survivors  of 
a  guilty  race,  that  had  been  swept  from  the  face  of 
the  earth  by  an  exterminating  judgment  of  heaven, 
they  must  have  had  an  impressive  sense  of  the  evil 
of  sin,  and  of  the  importance  of  acknowledging  God, 
in  all  their  ways,  by  a  prompt  and  religious  attention 
to  the  instituted  rites  and  ordinances  of  his  worship. 
Accordingly,  we  find  their  first  act,  after  leaving  the 
ark,  was  an  act  of  solemn  devotion.  "And  Noah 
builded  an  altar  unto  the  Lord;  and  took  of  every 


68  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

clean  beast,  and  of  every  clean  fowl,  and  offered 
burnt  offerings  on  the  altar."  Nor  was  this  a  vain 
service.  God  had  appointed  sacrifices  of  this  nature, 
as  types  or  significant  representations  of  the  Re- 
deemer's blood,  that  rich  and  never  failing  fountain 
which  cleanseth  from  all  sin.  And  they  who  offered 
gifts  on  the  altar,  in  the  faith  of  the  divine  testimony, 
and  with  a  believing  reference  to  the  Lamb  of  God 
who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world,  were  in  every 
instance,  blessed  in  their  deed  and  made  accepted  in 
the  beloved.  Thus  it  was  with  Noah,  on  this  occa- 
sion. "  And  the  Lord  smelled  a  sweet  savour :  and 
the  Lord  said,  in  his  heart,  I  will  not  again  curse  the 
ground  any  more  for  man's  sake;  for  the  imagination 
of  man's  heart  is  evil  from  his  youth;  neither  will 
I  again  smite  any  more  every  thing  living  as  I  have 
done."  The  Lord's  smelling  a  sweet  savour  is  a 
figurative  expression,  intended,  evidently,  to  indicate 
his  gracious  acceptance  of  Noah  and  his  offering. 
And  that  this  favourable  acceptance  was  vouchsafed, 
by  virtue  of  the  mediation  of  Jesus  Christ,  is  pretty 
plainly  intimated  by  the  apostle  Paul,  in  his  epistle  to 
the  Ephesians,  v.  2,  where  he  uses  an  expression,  in 
regard  to  the  great  sacrifice  of  the  cross,  substantially 
the  same  as  that  now  before  us:  "Walk  in  love,  as 
Christ  also  hath  loved  us,  and  hath  given  himself  for 
us,  an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  to  God,  for  a  sweet 
SMELLING  SAVOUR."  Let  US,  thcu,  iu  all  our  ap- 
proaches to  God,  and  in  all  the  services  we  render 
him,  have  respect  to  our  divine  Advocate  with  the 
Father,  who  suffered  once,  the  just  for  the  unjust;  but 
who  is  now  exalted  at  the  right  hand  of  the  JMajesty 
in  heaven,  where  he  "ever  liveth  to  make  interces- 
sion for  his  people."  Our  best  performances  are  pol- 
luted with  sin;  nor  are  we  warranted,  in  Scripture, 
to  expect  the  acceptance  of  our  purest  desires,  or  most 
fervent  prayers,  save  througli  the  merits  and  media- 
tion of  the  Lord  Jesus.  He  is  our  hope.  In  him  the 
Father  is  well  pleased:  and,  for  his  sake,  mercy  can 
be  extended  to  the  chief  of  sinners. 

The  Noahic  covenant,  which  is  to  be  the  main  sub- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  69 

ject  of  this  lecture,  conveys  to  mankind  several  pieces 
of  useful  and  desirable  instruction.  It  consists  in  a 
])ro77iise,  on  God's  part,  confirmed  by  a  sacramental 
sign  and  seal  of  divine  appointment.  It  is  a  solemn 
stipulation,  that  the  world  shall  not  be  again  visited 
by  a  universal  deluge;  that,  under  the  hand  of  culti- 
vation, the  ground  shall  produce  food  convenient  for 
man  and  beast;  that  the  seasons  of  the  year,  "seed- 
time and  harvest,  cold  and  heat,  summer  and  winter, 
day  and  night,  shall  not  cease,  while  the  earth  re- 
maineth."  This  covenant  engagement  was  accom- 
panied by  a  command  to  multiply  and  replenish  the 
earth,  and  to  regard  the  life  of  man  as  sacred  and 
inviolable.  Murder  was  forbidden  on  pain  of  death. 
Even  a  beast  that  caused  the  death  of  a  human  being 
was  to  be  slain,  as  an  attestation  of  God's  indisputa- 
ble claim  to  be  the  sole  disposer,  as  he  is  the  giver  of 
life;  "Surely  your  blood  of  your  lives  will  I  require; 
at  the  hand  of  every  beast  will  I  require  it;  and  at 
the  hand  of  man;  at  the  hand  of  every  man's  brother 
will  I  require  the  life  of  man.  Whoso  sheddeth  man's 
blood,  by  man  shall  his  blood  be  shed;  for,  in  the 
image  of  God  made  he  man.''^  In  connexion  with 
these  commands,  there  was  renewed  to  Noah  and 
his  posterity,  the  grant  of  dominion  over  the  inferior 
animals,  originally  vested  in  our  first  parents;  and,  in 
addition  to  this,  a  right  was  now  first  given  to  man 
to  use  animal  food,  excepting  blood,  which  was 
strictly  prohibited.  "Every  moving  thing  that  liveth 
shall  be  meat  for  you;  even  as  the  green  herb,  have 
I  given  you  all  things:  hwi  flesh  ivith  the  life  thereof, 
which  is  the  blood  thereof  shall  ye  not  eat.^^ 

In  contemplating  this  covenant  transaction  with  the 
new  world,  the  serious  mind  is  strongly  impressed 
with  the  condescension  and  benignity  of  the  Creator 
towards  his  dependant  creatures.  As  all  things  re- 
ceived their  existence  from  God,  so  are  they  depend- 
ant on  him  for  their  preservation  and  well  being. 
The  survivors  of  the  deluge  may  reasonably  be  sup- 
posed to  have  been  painfully  apprehensive,  that,  on 
the  increase  of  their  numbers,  and  the  consequent 


70  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

growth  of  wickedness,  they  might  be,  again,  visited 
by  a  similar  calamity.  This  fear,  if  not  removed  by 
some  express  revelation  of  the  divine  purpose  of  cle- 
mency and  forbearance,  would  have  checked  the  spirit 
of  enterprise,  and  greatly  retarded  their  progress,  in 
useful  arts,  and  intellectual  improvements.  Even 
their  pious  atiections  and  religious  exercises  would, 
probably,  have  partaken  more  of  servile  fear,  than 
filial  confidence,  gratitude  and  joy  in  the  Lord.  Be- 
hold, then,  the  loving-kindness  and  tender  compassion 
of  the  Most  High.  He  has  never  withheld  from  man- 
kind the  tokens  of  his  goodness.  On  this  occasion,  he 
gave  full  and  formal  evidence  of  his  gracious  regards 
for  the  creatures  of  his  power.  The  little  remnant  of 
his  faithful  worshippers  had  devoted  themselves  to  his 
service  by  sacrifice  and  thank-oflerings,  of  which  he 
testified  his  favourable  acceptance ;  and  now,  that  they 
are  entering  on  a  new  world,  which  they  are  to  people 
and  to  cultivate,  and  where  they  are  to  maintain  the 
worship  of  Him  who  made  heaven  and  earth,  and  use 
their  endeavours  to  promote  his  truth  and  honour;  and 
while  the  desolating  expression  of  his  wrath  against 
sin,  is  still  fresh  in  their  minds,  he  condescends  to  re- 
veal himself  to  them,  as  their  covenant  God  and  faith- 
ful guardian.  He  directs  them  to  replenish  the  earth: 
and  to  encourage  them,  in  so  doing,  and  to  remove 
their  fears  of  a  second  deluge,  he  assures  them,  by 
solemn  stipulation,  that  the  earth  shall  yield  her  in- 
crease to  the  hand  of  industry;  that  there  shall  be 
seed-time  and  harvest,  day  and  night,  winter  and 
summer;  that  all  flesh  shall  not  any  more  be  swept 
away  by  the  waters  of  a  flood:  and  that  they  and 
their  descendants,  to  the  latest  generation,  might  have 
a  visible  token  or  remembrancer  of  this  kind  and  gra- 
cious engagement,  the  rainbow,  or  as  it  is  called  in 
Scripture,  "  God's  bow  in  the  cloud,"  was  set,  or 
appointed,  as  the  seal  of  his  faithfulness  and  truth. 
Whether  that  beautiful  phenomenon,  the  rainbow, 
existed  and  was  seen  before  the  flood,  or  whether  it 
was  now  produced  by  some  change  in  our  atmos- 
phere, for  the  express  purpose  of  confirming  and 


LECTURES    ON   BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  71 

perpetuating  the  remembrance  of  this  covenant,  is  a 
question,  as  unimportant  as  it  is  difficult  to  decide. 
It  is  unimportant,  because,  admitting  that  it  existed 
before^  it  did  not  exist  as  the  token  of  any  covenant 
between  God  and  man;  and,  when  once  appointed  as 
the  seal  of  Noah's  covenant,  it  would  answer  that  end 
as  completely,  as  if  it  had  been  formed  expressly  for 
that  purpose.  The  question  is  difficult  to  decide,  be- 
cause, although  it  proceeds  from  natural  causes,  the 
reflection  and  refraction  of  the  sun's  rays  from  innu- 
merable drops  of  rain  in  a  thin  cloud,  yet  so  many 
concurrent  circumstances  are  necessary  to  its  produc- 
tion, that  no  man  without  knowing  the  alterations 
which  may  have  taken  place  in  the  atmosphere  at 
the  time  of  the  flood,  or  what  change  may  have  been 
made,  after  that  event,  in  the  mode  of  watering  the 
earth,  can  prove,  with  certainty,  that  the  antediluvians 
ever  saw  a  rainbow.  No  object,  perhaps,  on  the  face 
of  nature,  is  viewed  with  more  complacency  and  de- 
light than  the  bow  in  the  cloud.  This  may  be  owing, 
in  part,  to  its  rich  colours  and  elegant  form,  but  chiefly, 
to  its  religious  and  appropriate  design,  as  a  messenger 
of  good  tidings,  and  a  pledge  to  the  world,  that  the 
earth  and  its  inhabitants  shall  not  be  again  visited  by 
a  general,  or  extensively  destructive  flood.  And,  I 
doubt  not,  that  it  is  from  a  vague  knowledge  of  tliis 
interesting  fact  of  sacred  history,  received  through  the 
medium  of  tradition,  that  Homer,  the  father  of  epic 
poetry,  takes  his  fine  idea  of  Iris,  or  the  bow  in  the 
clouds,  being  the  messenger  of  Jupiter,  the  Pagan 
king  of  heaven.  Where  it  is  said,  in  Scripture,  that 
when  God  looks  upon  the  ^'  bow  in  the  cloud,"  he 
will  remember  his  covenant,  we  are  to  understand  the 
expression,  as  used  after  the  manner  of  man;  for  God, 
in  whom  there  is  no  variableness,  needs  no  remem- 
brancer; he  cannot,  from  the  perfection  of  his  nature, 
forget  or  fail  to  accomplish  any  of  his  promises.  The 
outward  memorials  or  tokens  of  any  of  God's  trans- 
actions with  man,  are  for  man's  use  and  benefit ;  to 
remind  him  of  his  duty,  and  to  encourage  his  faith 
and  hope  in  the  divine  promises.     That  this  is  true. 


72  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

in  the  case  now  before  us,  will  not  be  doubted. 
When,  therefore,  we  look  upon  the  rainbow,  let  it  re- 
mind us  of  our  duty  to  Him  who  painted  its  beauteous 
colours,  and  placed  it  in  the  cloud  as  the  symbol  of  his 
goodness  to  a  dependant  and  guilty  world.  Nor  let 
our  thoughts  be  limited  to  temporal  benefits,  when 
viewing-  this  beautiful  emblem  of  the  divine  benig 
nity.  To  those  who  are  interested  in  that  covenant, 
which  is  ordered  in  all  things  and  sure,  it  conveys  a 
lesson  of  the  highest  and  most  consolatory  import ;  a 
lesson  of  hope  and  confidence  in  Him  whose  blood 
and  righteousness  secure  them  from  that  fearful  deluge 
of  wrath  that  shall,  in  due  time,  come  upon  the  un- 
godly. Hear  the  word  of  Jehovah,  by  the  mouth  of 
his  prophet  Isaiah:  "This  is  as  the  waters  of  Noah 
unto  me ;  for,  as  I  have  sworn  that  the  waters  of  Noah 
shall  no  more  go  over  the  earth,  so  have  I  sworn  that 
I  would  not  be  wroth  with  thee,  nor  rebuke  thee:  for 
the  mountains  shall  depart,  and  the  hills  be  removed; 
but  my  kindness  shall  not  depart  from  thee,  neither 
shall  the  covenant  of  my  peace  be  removed,  saith  the 
Lord,  that  hath  mercy  on  thee.^'  Isa.  liv.  9-10. 

As  an  improvement  of  this  article  of  our  lecture, 
allow  us  to  suggest  a  few  practical  reflections. 

In  the  covenant  which  we  have  been  considering, 
God  claims  to  govern  the  world,  as  well  in  its  physi- 
cal, as  in  its  moral  concerns.  The  laws  of  nature  owe 
their  efficiency,  and  steady  operation  to  the  constant 
agency  of  God.  And  not  to  acknowledge  this  truth, 
is  but  little  short  of  practical  atheism.  The  inimita- 
ble Cowper  has  some  fine  thoughts  on  this  point: 

"  Some  say,  that,  in  the  origin  of  things, 
When  all  creation  started  into  birth, 
The  infant  elements  receiv'd  a  law, 
From  wliieh  they  swerve  not  since  I — That  under  force 
Of  that  controlling  ordinance  they  move, 
And  need  not  His  immediate  hand,  who  first 
Prescribed  their  course,  to  regulate  it  now. — 

But  how  should  matter  occupy  a  charge, 

Dull  as  it  is,  and  satisfy  a  law 

So  vast  in  its  demands,  unless  impell'd 

To  ceaseless  service  by  a  ceaseless  force, 

And  under  pressure  of  some  conscious  cause  ? 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  73 

The  Lord  of  all,  himself  thro'  all  diffused, 
Sustains,  and  is  the  life  of  all  that  lives. 
Nature  is  but  a  name  for  an  effect, 
Whose  cause  is  God." — Task,  b.  vi. 

Yes;  it  is  God  that  sustains  the  earth  in  its  orbit, 
and  causes  grass,  and  bread  corn,  and  all  its  pleasant 
fruits  to  grow  on  its  surface,  for  the  use  of  man  and 
beast.  It  is  God  that  gives  us  the  former  and  the  lat- 
ter rain,  seed-time,  and  plenteous  harvests.  He  it  is, 
that  maintains  health  in  our  borders,  or  visits  us,  as 
he  sees  fit,  with  sickness,  disease,  and  death.  He  it 
is,  that  preserves  the  ships  that  convey  our  friends 
and  our  property  across  the  mountain  waves,  and 
the  trackless  deep.  He  it  is,  that  rides  in  the  whirl- 
wind— that  directs  the  tornado — that  lets  loose  his 
water-spouts,  in  such  measure,  and  on  such  places, 
as  he  pleases,  to  teach  men  their  dependance  on  his 
providence,  and  their  obligations  to  his  protecting 
power,  and  bounteous  munificence.  He  it  is,  in  one 
word,  that  gives  us  all  our  comforts,  and  removes  them 
from  us,  at  his  pleasure.  To  him,  therefore,  let  our 
prayers  and  thank-offerings  be  continually  presented, 
in  the  name  of  Jesus,  to  whose  mediation  we  owe 
all  our  comforts,  and  all  our  best  hopes. 

The  partial  inundations  that  often  occur  are  no  in- 
fraction of  the  Noahic  covenant;  as  that  only  enga- 
ges that  there  shall  not,  again,  be  a  universal  deluge. 
"  The  waters  of  a  flood  shall  not  any  more  destroy 
all  flesh. '^  •  Inundations,  like  earthquakes,  pestilence, 
famine,  and  war,  are  the  ministers  of  God's  anger,  by 
which  he  visits  and  reproves  guilty  communities  of 
mankind.  But  the  covenant  sealed  with  its  ^^bow  in 
the  cloud^^  secures  the  world  from  destruction  by 
water,  and  constitutes  our  only  authentic  assurance  of 
seed-time  and  harvest,  winter  and  summer,  and  day 
and  night,  while  the  earth  remaineth. 

Let  us  be  thankful  for  the  Bible,  which  among  in- 
numerable other  precious  pieces  of  instruction,  con- 
tains this  charter  of  the  world's  preservation  and  pri- 
vileges, till  all  the  designs  of  redeeming  mercy  shall 
be  fully  accomplished. 
7 


74  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

The  apostle  Peter  teaches  ns,  that  the  fashion,  or 
present  form  of  the  world  is  ultimately  to  be  changed, 
or  destroyed  by  a  universal  conflagration.  *^  The 
heavens  and  the  earth,  which  are  now,  are  kept  in 
store,  reserved  unto  fire,  against  the  day  of  judgment, 
and  perdition  of  ungodly  men  —  the  heavens  shall 
pass  away  with  a  great  noise,  and  the  elements  shall 
melt  with  fervent  heat;  and  the  earth,  also,  and  the 
works  that  are  therein,  shall  be  burnt  up."  2  Pet.  iii. 
7-10. 

It  is  not  certain,  however,  from  this  or  any  other 
passages  of  sacred  Scripture,  that  this  earth  is  to  be 
utterly  consumed,  blotted  from  existence,  or  even  ren- 
dered useless,  in  the  great  empire  of  Jehovah.  That 
the  time  will  come  when  it  shall  be  wrapped  in 
flames,  and  undergo  a  purification — be  stripped  of  its 
combustible  furniture,  by  the  action  of  fire,  of  which 
it  comprises  immense  stores  in  its  own  bowels,  can- 
not be  doubted  by  any  believer  in  the  lively  oracles 
of  revelation.  Yet,  that  it  may  answer  a  valuable 
purpose — be  the  dwelling  place  of  some  happy  intel- 
ligences, after  that  event,  is  quite  possible;  nay,  even 
probable:  and  the  apostle  Peter  himself  seems  to  en- 
courage an  expectation  of  this  kind,  when  he  says,  in 
a  subsequent  verse  of  the  same  chapter,  and,  in  con- 
cluding his  description  of  the  general  conflagration: — 
^'Nevertheless,  we,  according  to  his  promise,  look 
for  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth  wherein  dwelleth 
righteousness:"  verse  13.  We  do  not  believe  that 
annihilation  will  ever  invade  any  of  the  Creator's 
works. 

To  conclude:  let  us  try  to  fix  in  our  minds  the  true 
idea  of  the  nature  and  design  of  that  covenant  which 
we  have  been  considering.  That  it  was  not  formal- 
ly and  precisely  the  covenant  of  grace,  is,  we  think, 
plain  from  these  facts — viz.  that  there  is  no  mention 
in  it,  of  any  spiritual  and  saving  benefit;  that  its  pro- 
mise is  made  not  only  to  all  mankind,  but  to  every 
living  thing;  fowl,  cattle,  and  beasts  of  the  earth;  a 
scope  of  promise  which  certainly  does  not  belong  to 
the  covenant  of  grace. 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  75 

We  think,  however,  that  the  Noahic  covenant,  must 
be  regarded,  as  having  been  formed  with  the  world, 
for  its  temporal  benefit  and  comfort,  in  consequence, 
of  the  mediatorial  office  and  work  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Mediator  of  the  new  covenant:  for  all  the  patience  of 
God,  in  sparing  a  world  stained  with  crimes,  is  to  be 
ascribed  to  his  gracious  design  of  redeeming  unto  him- 
self, a  peculiar  people,  by  the  cross  of  Christ:  so  that, 
had  not  the  covenant  of  grace  taken  effect  before  the 
deluge,  there  would  have  been  no  ark  furnished  for 
the  saving  of  Noah  and  his  family;  nor  any  covenant 
of  peace  and  safety,  sealed  by  the  rainbow,  to  quiet 
the  fears,  and  gladden  the  hearts  of  guilty  men.  John 
the  Evangelist  saw,  in  the  visions  of  Patmos,  a  rain- 
bow round  about  the  head  of  the  Son  of  man,  our 
glorious  Redeemer.  In  him,  we  have  that  peace  of 
God  which  passeth  understanding.  The  bow  of  his 
covenant,  perpetually  encircles  the  throne  of  heaven; 
and,  when  the  storms  of  divine  wrath  shall  sweep 
away  all  refuges  of  lies,  they  who  put  their  trust  in 
him,  and  accept  the  blessings  of  his  grace,  shall  be 
safe,  and  peaceful,  and  triumphant,  world  without 
end. 

Whenever  we  look  upon  the  rainbow,  let  us  recol- 
lect, and  be  thankful  on  the  recollection  of  the  blessed 
truth,  that  by  virtue  of  the  gracious  interposition  of 
Christ,  we  are  placed  under  a  dispensation  of  mercy, 
where  we  not  only  enjoy  the  common  bounties  of  a 
munificent  Providence,  but  have  an  opportunity  of 
securing  "  the  true  riches,"  an  interest  in  the  favour 
of  God,  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  the  life  everlasting 
through  him  that  loved  us,  and  gave  himself  for  us. 
Sin  has  drawn  down  a  curse  upon  the  earth,  and  in- 
flicted on  the  children  of  men  most  grievous  maladies: 
but  there  is  a  fountain  opened,  in  the  blood  of  atone- 
ment, whose  streams  make  glad  the  city  of  our  God. 
There  is  a  covenant,  well  ordered  in  all  things,  and 
sure;  a  covenant,  rich  in  its  provisions,  and  inmiuta- 
ble  in  its  engagements.  The  gospel  of  God,  our 
Saviour,  unfolds  to  us  the  contents  of  this  divine 
compact;  and,  often,  has  our  faith  in  its  liberal  pro- 


76  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

mises,  been  invited,  by  the  exhibition  of  its  hallowed 
seals,  in  the  ministry  of  reconciliation.  To  this  well 
authenticated  instrument  of  redeeming  grace,  let  us 
yield  consent,  and  affix  our  names,  and  entrust  our 
souls:  and,  then  may  we  sing  with  the  poet: 


"  Ere  God  pronounc'd  creation  ^ood, 
Or  bade  the  vast  unbounded  flood 

Through  fixed  channels  run ; 
Ere  light  from  ancient  chaos  sprung, 
Or  angels  earth's  formation  sung, 

He  chose  us  in  his  Son. 

Then  was  the  cov'nant  ordered  sure, 
Through  endless  ages  to  endure, 

By  Israel's  triune  God  : 
That  none  his  cov'nant  might  evade, 
With  oaths  and  promises  'twas  made, 

And  ratified  in  blood. 

God  is  the  refuge  of  my  soul, 

Tho'  tempests  rage,tho'  billows  roll, 

And  hellish  powers  assail : 
Eternal  walls  are  my  defence — 
Environ'd  with  Omnipotence, 

What  foe  can  ere  prevail? 

Then  let  infernal  legions  roar, 

And  waste  their  cursed,  vengeful  power, 

My  soul  their  wrath  disdains  : 
In  God,  my  refuge,  I'm  secure, 
While  cov'nant  promises  endure, 

Or  my  Redeemer  reigns." 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  77 


LECTUKE  VIII 


NOAH'S  PROPHECY  AND  DEATH. 

And  Noah  awoke  from  his  wine,  and  knew  what  his  younger  son  had 
done  unto  him.  And  he  said,  cursed  be  Canaan  ;  a  servant  of  ser- 
vants  shall  he  be  unto  his  bretln-en.  And  he  said,  blessed  be  the  Lord 
God  of  Shem;  and  Canaan  shall  be  his  servant.  God  shall  enlarge 
Japheth,  and  he  shall  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem;  and  Canaan  shall 
be  his  servant.  And  Noah  lived  after  the  flood  three  hundred  and 
fifty  years.  And  all  the  days  of  Noah  were  nine  hundred  and  fifty 
years :  and  he  died. — Gen.  ix.  24-29. 

In  pursuing  the  thread  of  sacred  history,  in  these  lec- 
tures, we  cannot  expatiate  largely  on  every  fact  that 
occurs  m  the  inspired  narrative.  It  is  our  aim  to 
select  the  most  important  events,  and  deduce  from 
them  such  practical  lessons  as  they  seem  designed  to 
convey.  But  every  thing  connected  with  the  history 
of  Noah,  is  interesting  and  instructive.  He  was  six 
hundred  years  an  inhabitant  of  the  old  world — was 
preserved,  with  his  family,  during  the  space  of  three 
hundred  and  sixty-five  days,  on  the  surface  of  a 
boundless  ocean,  to  repeople  the  new  one — and, 
though  far  from  being  a  spotless  character,  he  was  a 
man  whom  God  delighted  to  honour.  He  had  been 
a  witness  for  the  truth,  a  preacher  of  righteousness, 
and  an  eminent  example  of  faith,  to  the  antediluvians. 
After  the  deluge,  his  religious  services  were  graciously 
accepted;  and  with  him,  as  a  second  progenitor  of  the 
human  family,  the  Lord  condescended  to  form  that 
remarkable  covenant,  sealed  by  the  "  bow  in  the 
cloud,'^  which  constitutes  the  world's  charter,  while 
the  earth  remaineth,  for  seed-time  and  harvest,  sum- 
mer and  winter,  day  and  night,  and  for  its  preserva- 
tion from  destruction  by  the  waters  of  another  flood. 
7* 


78  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

It  will  not  be  amiss  for  us,  therefore,  before  we  take 
leave  of  his  history,  to  notice,  briefly,  two  or  three 
things  which  took  place  towards  the  close  of  his  life, 
and  in  which  he  had  the  principal  agency. 

We  are  taught  by  Moses,  that  soon  after  the  cove- 
nant transaction  which  formed  the  subject  of  our  last 
lecture,  Noah  began  to  cultivate  the  ground;  that  he 
planted  a  vineyard;  that,  on  a  certain  occasion,  he 
became  intoxicated,  and  that  by  his  indecent  appear- 
ance while  in  this  state,  he  drew  on  himself  the 
mockery  and  derision  of  Ham,  one  of  his  own  sons. 
In  this  affair,  we  may  read  the  frailty  of  human  na- 
ture. The  best  of  men  are  liable  to  be  overtaken  in 
a  fault;  and  all  have  need  to  pray  continually,  ^'Hold 
thou  me  up,  and  I  shall  be  safe."  Some  interpreters 
of  Scripture,  eager  to  defend  the  character  of  the 
father  of  the  new  world,  allege  that  he  must  have 
been  ignorant  of  the  inebriating  quality  of  wine;  and, 
had  this  conjecture  but  a  moderate  degree  of  proba- 
bility in  its  favour,  we  should  certainly  be  disposed  to 
acquiesce  in  it,  as  a  decisive  exculpation  of  the  man 
of  God,  from  the  foul  charge  of  drunkenness.  But  it 
seems  unlikely  that  the  use  and  effects  of  wine  were 
unknown  in  the  world  for  upwards  of  sixteen  hun- 
dred years;  especially  in  a  part  of  the  earth  so  favoura- 
ble, in  point  of  soil  and  climate,  to  the  production  of 
the  grape.  It  is  observable,  also,  that  the  planting  of 
a  vineyard  was  one  of  the  first  branches  of  agricul- 
ture to  which  Noah  directed  his  attention;  which 
shows  pretty  plainly,  that  he  was  not  unacquainted 
with  the  useful  product  of  the  vine,  and  can  hardly 
be  supposed  to  have  been  ignorant  that  the  juice  of 
the  grape,  when  taken  immoderately,  would  produce 
intoxication.  These  obvious  considerations  compel 
us  to  admit  his  criminality  in  this  matter.  It  were 
equally  uncandid  and  uncharitable  to  suppose  that  he 
was  henceforth  a  habitual  drunkard.  From  his  gene- 
ral character  and  conduct,  we  are  bound  to  hope  that 
this  was  the  only  instance  in  which  he  was  overcome 
by  that  disgraceful  and  ruinous  sin.  And  those  per- 
sons who  indulge  freely  in  that  abominable  vice,  and 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORV.  79 

appeal  to  the  conduct  of  righteous  Noah,  as  aflbrding 
an  apology  for  their  hase  and  wicked  practice,  do  hut 
trifle  in  serious  concerns,  and  sport  with  (heir  own 
deceivings.  *'  No  drunkard  shall  inlierit  the  kingdom 
of  God:'"'  the  mouth  of  ihe  Lord  hath  spoken  it!  In 
the  treatment  which  Noah  received  from  his  sons,  on 
this  unhappy  occasion,  children  and  youth  may  take 
a  useful  hint,  in  regard  to  the  duty  which  they  owe 
to  parents.  The  conduct  of  Ham  was  infamous;  and 
showed  a  mind  equally  wanting  in  delicacy  and  filial 
reverence.  A  tender  regard  for  the  honour  and  hap- 
piness of  an  earthly  parent  is  a  sentiment,  which  in 
the  scale  of  moral  duty,  stands  next  in  order  to  that 
of  religious  reverence  for  the  Great  Father  of  Spirits. 
A  child  may  see,  and  lament  in  secret,  the  errors  of  a 
parent;  but  to  take  occasion  from  his  faults  to  revile 
him,  or  to  expose  him  to  public  scorn,  is  a  crime 
against  nature ; — a  heinous  offence  in  the  eyes  of  the 
God  of  nature,  and  an  unequivocal  indication  of  a 
bad  heart.  Shem  and  Japheth  appear  in  this  instance 
to  have  been  dutiful  sons;  though  there  is  no  reason 
to  conclude  that  they  either  approved  or  connived  at 
a  father's  sin,  they  endeavoured,  with  commendable 
delicacy,  to  protect  his  honour  and  screen  him  from 
popular  contempt.  Go  children  and  do  likewise. 
You  are  mider  obligations  to  your  fathers  and  mothers, 
which  you  can  never  fully  discharge:  while  you  obey 
their  commands,  shield  them  from  reproach,  and  min- 
ister to  their  comfort,  without  violating  any  of  the 
divine  precepts,  you  perform  a  sacred  duty,  and  may 
hope  that  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  will  bless  you  in 
your  deed. 

But  it  may  be  thought,  and  has  indeed  been  more 
than  insinuated,  that  Noah  on  his  recovery  from  the 
ill  effects  of  his  wine,  evinced  a  spirit  of  revenge  and 
bitterness  unworthy  of  a  pious  father,  in  the  sentence 
which  he  pronounced  on  his  sons  and  their  respec- 
tive descendants.  Let  us  look  dispassionately  at  this 
transaction.  We  are  not  bound  to  defend  every  act 
of  every  good  man,  whose  name  we  find  in  the 
Bible;  bat  we   are    bound   to   do  justly  and  judge 


80  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

righteously.  The  sacred  Scriptures,  unlike  the  fic- 
tions of  ancient,  poesy,  or  the  senseless  dreams  of 
modern  romance,  present  us  with  no  sinless  charac- 
ters, save  that  of  Jesus  Christ.  We  have  here  a  faith- 
ful record  of  human  nature,  always  frail  and  prone  to 
evil,  except  when  prevented  and  redeemed  by  the 
grace  of  God.  But,  we  verily  think,  Noah  was  not 
blameworthy  in  this  matter.  It  is  well  known  that 
one  of  the  early  modes  of  predicting  the  character 
and  destiny  of  families  or  nations,  was  that  of  a 
father's  valedictory  and  solemn  address  to  his  chil- 
dren; of  which,  we  shall  have  occasion  to  notice 
some  instances  in  the  sequel  of  these  lectures.  Of 
this  nature,  as  we  think,  is  the  sentence  now  in 
question.  We  are  not  obliged  to  believe  that  Noah, 
immediately  on  awaking  from  a  fit  of  intoxication, 
proceeded  to  pronounce  on  the  character  and  future 
fortunes  of  his  sons.  The  sacred  history  is  very 
concise,  and  therefore,  considerable  time  may  have 
elapsed  between  events  which  seem  to  follow  one 
another  closely  in  the  narrative.  The  patriarch  was 
now  an  aged  man;  his  sons  were  about  to  leave  him, 
that,  in  conformity  to  the  divine  purpose,  they  might 
improve  and  replenish  the  earth.  He  calls  them 
about  him,  and  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  utters  in 
their  hearing  a  prophecy  of  a  most  extended  and 
comprehensive  kind,  to  the  fulfilment  of  which,  age 
after  age  and  century  upon  century  have  borne  uni- 
form and  decisive  testimony.  "Cursed  be  Canaan; 
a  servant  of  servants  shall  he  be  unto  his  brethren." 
The  name  of  Ham  is  not  mentioned  in  the  curse  at 
all.  How  will  you  account  for  the  omission,  on  sup- 
position that  the  patriarch  was  influenced  by  a  prin- 
ciple of  revenge  ?  Would  he  pass  by  the  offender, 
and  vent  his  passion  on  a  grand-son,  who,  so  far  as 
we  know,  took  no  part  in  the  base  conduct  of  his 
father?  To  us,  this  really  appears  incredible.  It  is 
then  a  prediction  uttered  in  the  name  of  God ;  and 
the  event  proves  that  it  respects  the  posterity  of  Ham, 
in  general,  and  the  family  of  Canaan,  in  particular. 
The  Canaanites  were  subdued  or  extirpated  by  the 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  81 

Israelites,  the  descendants  of  Shem.  And  the  Pheni- 
cians,  the  Sidonians,  and  Carthagenians,  the  posteri- 
ty of  Ham,  were  oppressed  and  suhjugated  by  the 
Greeks  and  Romans,  the  children  of  Japheth. 

The  unhappy  sons  of  Africa  are  the  offspring  of 
Ham;  and  that  they  have  been  for  ages  subject  to 
the  will — the  misrule — the  avarice  and  tyranny  of 
Japheth — the  inhabitants  of  Europe  and  America, 
cannot  be  doubted.  The  blessing  of  Shem  has  been 
realized,  in  the  fact,  that  his  posterity  comprised  the 
church  of  God  for  many  ages — and  of  him,  "  as  con- 
cerning the  flesh,  Christ  came," — the  glory  of  Israel, 
and  the  light  of  the  Gentiles.  God  has  enlarged 
Japheth.  To  his  family  have  been  assigned  an  ex- 
tensive portion,  and  some  of  the  choicest  spots  of  the 
liabitable  globe.  Besides  several  districts  in  Asia,  his 
children  occupy  the  whole  of  Europe  and  both  Ame- 
ricas. And  by  the  gracious  triumphs  of  Christianity, 
first  propagated  by  Jesus  and  his  apostles,  of  Jewish 
descent,  Japheth  has  been  made  to  dwell  in  the  tents, 
and  to  worship  the  God  of  Shem.  "  There  never  has 
been  a  son  of  Ham,"  says  the  venerable  Mede,  "  who 
has  shaken  a  sceptre  over  the  head  of  Japheth.  Shem 
has  subdued  Japheth, and  Japheth  has  subdued  Shem; 
but  Ham  never  subdued  either."  There  may  have 
been  some  small  exceptions;  but,  in  general,  Ham 
has  been  pretty  uniformly  the  servant  of  his  brethren 
of  the  other  branches  of  his  father's  family.  Of  the 
four  greatest  empires  that  ever  existed,  viz.  tlie  As- 
syrian, Persian,  Greek,  and  Roman,  it  is  remarkable, 
that  the  first  and  second  belonged  to  Shem,  and  the 
third  and  fourth  to  Japheth.  And  at  the  present  time, 
while  America,  Europe,  and  a  part  of  Asia  are  free, 
powerful,  and  independent,  Africa  is  the  common 
mart  of  the  world  for  slavery  and  trafficking  in 
human  flesh.  Noah  does  not  then  deal  out  his 
curses  and  benedictions  to  his  sons  from  passion  or 
spleen.  As  the  Lord's  prophet  he  foretells  a  state  of 
things  in  relation  to  them,  which,  for  wise  reasons  to 
be  unfolded  in  due  time,  shall  continue  for  a  season; 
but  it  shall  not  continue  always;  mercy's  remedy  is 


82  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

destined  to  have  a  wide  extension ;  the  grace  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  shall  reign  through  righteousness,  where 
sin  has  abounded.  When  the  heathen  are  given  to 
Messiah,  for  his  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  earth,  for  his  possession,  Canaan  shall  cease  to 
be  a  servant  of  servants.  Man  shall  no  longer  doom 
his  fellow-man  to  bondage,  because  he  finds  him  de- 
fenceless and  guilty  of  a  coloured  skin.  All  shall 
know  the  Lord — be  free  in  Christ — and  love  as 
brethren.  0  come  the  blessed  period !  when  the  mil- 
lenial  light  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  shall  spread 
its  cheering  rays  over  the  whole  face  of  this  great 
world,  so  long  the  abode  of  sin,  and  the  scene  of 
human  wretchedness  and  crimes!  Come,  speedily, 
the  bright  and  the  promised  day,  when  all  people 
and  kindreds  of  the  earth  shall  dwell,  with  sweet 
accord,  in  the  tents  of  Shem; — when  all  flesh  shall 
see  the  salvation  of  our  God,  and  triumph  in  redeem- 
ing grace,  under  the  universal  reign  of  Christ,  the 
Lord  and  King  of  Zion!  But  this  is  a  digression 
from  our  subject.  We  are  pressing  upon  the  closing 
scene  of  the  patriarch's  life:  "And  Noah  lived,  after 
the  flood,  three  hundred  and  fifty  years;  and  all  the 
days  of  Noah  were  nine  hundred  and  fifty  years;  and 
he  died." 

He  had  lived  long,  and  shared  largely  in  the  care 
and  distinguishing  bounties  of  Heaven.  He  had  an 
antediluvian  constitution,  and  therefore  attained  to 
a  greater  age  than  any  other  inhabitant  of  the  new 
world;  which  he  lived  to  see  extensively  peopled, 
and  overrun,  a  second  time,  with  idolatry  and  every 
evil  work;  for  he  must  have  continued  till  near,  if  not 
some  years  after  the  time  of  Abram's  birth,  in  the 
year  of  the  world  two  thousand  and  six.  He  had 
experienced  enough  of  the  sorrows  of  this  life  to 
make  him  willing,  through  grace,  to  exchange  it  for 
another  of  brighter,  holier,  and  more  cheering  pros- 
pects; and  though  we  have  no  account  of  his  dying 
exercises,  we  may  conclude,  from  his  general  charac- 
ter, from  the  tokens  of  divine  favour  shown  him  at 
sundry  times,  as  also  from  the  divine  testimony  res- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  83 

pecting  him,  that  his  latter  end  was  peace.  Readers, 
you  and  I  must  die  also.  Nor  can  we  count  upon 
centuries,  or  even  half-centuries;  our  days  .are  as  an 
hand-breadth,  in  comparison  with  Noah's  nine  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years.  The  time  of  our  sojourning  is 
calculated  by  scores,  and  generally  limited  to  three 
and  a  half  of  these  scanty  periods.  Three  little  words, 
'^  and  he  died,'^  will  quickly  close  the  history  of  the 
longest  liver  among  us.  Good  God  !  on  what  a  brief 
and  precarious  term  depend  the  infinite  interests  of 
these  our  deathless  souls !  "  So  teach  us  to  number 
our  daj^s,  that  we  may  apply  our  hearts  unto  wis- 
dom." 

Readers,  this  melancholy  subject  is  often  pressed 
upon  your  serious  consideration  in  the  ministry  of  re- 
conciliation, and  in  the  providence  of  God,  not  to 
diminish  or  disturb,  but  to  secure  your  happiness  and 
peace.  The  m.agnitude  of  the  subject  is  a  sufficient 
reason  for  its  frequent  recurrence.  Happy  for  you,  if 
after  all  that  you  have  seen  and  heard  of  death,  you 
shall  be  prepared  to  die  in  hope  and  comfort!  Min- 
isters of  the  word  who  visit  the  sick,  and  often  stand 
about  the  bed  of  the  dying,  have,  of  all  men,  the 
best  opportunity  of  appreciating  the  importance  of 
being  furnished  for  passing  that  "  bourn  whence  no 
traveller  returns.''  We  see  persons  die  in  a  great 
variety  of  circumstances:  some  stupidly; — some  in 
fear; — some  in  despair,  refusing  to  be  comforted; — 
others  in  peace,  triumphing  in  Christ,  as  the  resur- 
rection and  the  life.  The  dying  often  preach  to  us, 
and  make  us  feel  the  duty  of  preaching  to  the  living. 
Ah!  how  many  we  have  heard,  with  their  latest 
breath,  lament  their  neglect  of  the  great  salvation, 
during  their  day  of  grace:  but  we  have  never  heard 
any  one  say,  that  he  had  thought  too  much  on  the 
subject,  or  been  too  diligent  to  secure  the  heavenly 
prize.  It  is  natural  and  becoming,  therefore,  for  the 
pastor  who  regards  rightly  the  worth  of  a  soul,  to  feel 
solicitous  that  the  people  of  his  charge  may  be  ready 
to  give  up  their  account  to  God,  with  joy  and  not 
with  grief.    Now,  reader,  your  nature  is  depraved;  of 


84  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

this  you  liave  unequivocal  evidence  from  the  Bible, 
the  Lord's  sure  word  of  testimony;  from  the  history 
of  the  world;  from  your  own  observations,  and  from 
the  faithful  dictates  of  conscience.  Without  a  new 
heart  and  a  right  spirit,  therefore,  it  is  plain  you  are 
not  fit  for  heaven ;  and,  if  not  fit  for  heaven  when  death 
lays  his  cold  hand  upon  you,  your  souls  will  be  lost 
for  ever  to  God  and  to  happiness.  The  dissolution  of 
the  body  is  a  small  matter  compared  with  the  death 
of  the  soul — called  in  Scripture,  the  second  death — 
that  deathless  death,  that  eternal  succession  of  deaths, 
shall  we  say,  inflicted  by  the  .worm  that  never  dies, 
and  the  fire  that  is  not  quenched.  Now  the  gospel 
of  the  grace  of  God  points  you' to  a  refuge;  not  from 
death  temporal,  for  that  is  inevitable,  nor  is  it  terrible 
to  the  good  man,  because  it  is  a  transition  from  earth 
to  heaven ;  but  this  gospel  points  you  to  a  refuge  from 
the  second  death,  the  death  eternal:  "  Christ  in  you, 
the  hope  of  glory;  Christ  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the 
life ;  Christ  the  propitiation  for  our  sins,  and  the  Lord 
our  righteousness.^'  Have  you  fled  to  this  refuge? 
Have  you  laid  hold  of  this  hope  set  before  you? 
Some  of  you  have,  through  grace,  we  cannot  doubt. 
But  have  you  all?  All  souls  are  alike  precious,  con- 
sidered as  the  subjects  of  eternal  weal  or  wo.  If  the 
gospel  is  to  be  preached  to  every  creature,  should  not 
every  creature  regard  it  seriously,  and  accept  the 
remedy  which  it  off"ers,  against  the  otherwise  fatal 
malady,  sin?  Do  you  not  all  expect  to  die?  Indu- 
bitably. When?  "  Ye  know  neither  the  day  nor  the 
hour."  Noah  lived  nine  hundred  and  fifty  years, 
"  and  he  died."  But  none  of  you  can  expect  to  live 
one  hundred  years;  many  of  you  not  half  that  time: 
but  what  if  you  should,  by  reason  of  uncommon 
strength,  attain  to  five  score  years?  Death  would  be 
as  awful  then,  should  it  find  you  in  your  sins,  as  it 
would  be  to-day.  Seeing  then,  there  is  no  discharge 
in  this  war,  what  is  your  hope  for  the  world  to  come? 
Do  any. of  you  indulge  the  comfortless,  the  debasing 
belief  in  annihilation ;  that  the  grave  is  the  end  of  man, 
soul  and  body?     Annihilation  is  an  atheistical  phan- 


LECTURES    OX    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  85 

tasm.  There  is  not  a  particle  of  evidence,  either  in 
the  lively  oracles,  or  in  the  wide  field  of  nature,  that 
any  of  God's  creatures,  whether  matter  or  mind,  shall 
ever  be  utterly  blotted  out  of  being.  Is  your  hope  of 
acceptance  with  God  founded  on  your  good  works? 
What  then  will  you  do  with  your  l3ad  works. ^  Or,  if 
you  believe  the  Bible,  how  do  you  interpret  that  pas- 
sage; "By  the  deeds  of  the  law  no  flesh  shall  be  jus- 
tified in  his  sight?"  Are  you  saying  in  your  heart, 
with  Felix ;  "  Go  thy  way  for  this  time  V  or,  with 
the  sluggard,  "A  little  more  sleep,  a  little  more  slum- 
ber: a  little  more  folding  of  the  hands  to  rest?"  Ah! 
this  is  the  sin  that  slays  its  thousands.  Many,  it  is  to 
be  feared,  permit  the  \)'\\{eAQY ,  jjrocrastination,  to  steal 
away  their  time,  day  after  day,  and  year  after  year, 
till  the  season  of  grace  expires,  and  the  impassioned 
exclamation  bursts  from  the  bosom  of  despair,  "  The 
harvest  is  past,  and  the  summer  is  ended;  and  we  are 
not  saved  !"  0  let  us  listen  heedfully  to  the  voice  of 
divine  mercy,  urging  us  to  give  all  dihgence  to  make 
our  calling  and  election  sure:  "Behold,  ?2oi^;  is  the 
accepted  time  !  Behold  now  is  the  day  of  salvation  !" 

"There  is  a  time,  and  justice  marks  the  date, 
For  long  forbearing  clemency  to  wait; 
That  hour  elapsed — the  incurable  revolt  is  punished." 


86  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 


LECTURE  IX. 


THE    ORIGIN    OF    VARIOUS    LANGUAGES. 

And  the  whole  earth  was  of  one  language,  and  of  one  speech.  And  it 
came  to  pass,  as  they  journeyed  from  the  east,  that  they  found  a 
plain  in  the  land  of  Shinar,  and  they  dwelt  there.  And  they  said 
one  to  another,  Go  to,  let  us  make  brick,  and  burn  them  thoroughly. 
And  they  had  brick  for  stone,  and  slime  had  they  for  mortar.  And 
they  said,  Go  to,  let  us  build  us  a  city,  and  a  tower  whose  top  may 
reach  unto  heaven ;  and  let  us  make  us  a  name,  lest  we  be  scattered 
abroad  upon  the  face  of  the  whole  earth.  And  the  Lord  came  down 
to  see  the  city,  and  the  tower,  which  the  children  of  men  builded. 
And  the  Lord  said,  Behold,  the  people  is  one,  and  they  have  all  one 
language;  and  this  they  begin  to  do:  and  now  nothing  will  be  re- 
strained  from  them,  which  they  have  imagined  to  do.  Go  to,  let 
us  go  down,  and  there  confound  their  language,  that  they  may  not 
understand  one  another's  speech.  So  the  Lord  scattered  them 
abroad  from  thence  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth;  and  they  left  off 
to  build  the  city.  Therefore  is  the  name  of  it  called  Babel :  be- 
cause the  Lord  did  there  confound  the  language  of  all  the  earth : 
and  from  thence  did  the  Lord  scatter  them  abroad  upon  the  face  of 
all  the  earth."— Gen.  xi.  1-9. 

The  precise  time  when  the  events  related,  in  this 
portion  of  sacred  history  took  place,  cannot  be  ascer- 
tained; but  it  is  highly  probable,  that  they  occurred 
within  two  hundred  years  after  the  deluge,  and  during 
the  lifetime  of  Noah.  Peleg,  the  son  of  Heber,  and 
great  grand-son  of  Shem,  was  born  about  one  hun- 
dred years  after  the  flood;  and  we  are  told  that  in  his 
days  the  earth  was  divided;  and,  to  commemorate 
that  event,  he  received  the  name  Peleg,  which  signi- 
fies division.  But  this  name  may  have  been  given 
to  him,  prophetically,  as  was  the  name  of  Noah,  and 
several  others,  before   the  event  occurred,  which  it 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  87 

was  designed  to  commemorate.  And,  as  he  lived 
two  hundred  and  thirtj^-nine  years,  we  may  fix  the 
date  of  the  dispersion,  which  is  said  to  have  taken 
place  'iifi  his  dai/s,^'  any  where  within  the  limits  of 
his  lifetime.  It  is  generally  fixed  ahout  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  after  the  flood.  At  this  period,  man- 
kind must,  on  the  most  moderate  computation,  have 
increased  to  several  thousands;  so  that  there  was  no 
want  of  hands  to  undertake  the  building  of  a  city  and 
tower,  as  has  been  suggested  by  certain  writers,  who 
aflect  to  know  more  than  Moses,  about  the  early  his- 
tory of  the  world. 

Several  things,  in  the  passage  before  us,  are  worthy 
of  special  notice.  In  our  remarks,  we  shall  pursue 
the  order  of  the  inspired  historian. 

In  the  first  place,  we  are  informed  that,  at  this  time, 
"  the  whole  earth,"  i.  e.  all  mankind,  used  one  com- 
mon language,  and  were  of  one  speech.  Every  fact, 
related  in  the  Bible,  is  consistent  with  the  whole,  and, 
when  considered  seriously,  tends  to  confirm  our  faith 
in  the  entire  volume,  as  an  inestimable  treasure  of 
revealed  truth.  Admitting  that  mankind,  except  a 
single  family,  were  swept  from  the  earth  by  a  uni- 
versal deluge,  as  Moses  teaches  us,  in  the  preceding 
pages  of  his  history,  it  is  perfectly  natural,  at  the 
distance  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  from  that  ca- 
tastrophe, to  find  this  favoured  family,  and  their 
descendants  using  one  common  form  of  speech. 
Whereas,  on  the  opposite  supposition,  that  men  had 
lived  many  generations  in  dilferent  states  of  society, 
and  in  distant  parts  of  the  world,  it  would  be  difficult 
to  believe  that  there  was  but  one  language  in  use 
among  all  nations;  for  it  is  undeniable  that  the  lapse 
of  time — different  forms  of  civil  government — the  in- 
fluence of  climate  on  the  organs  of  speech,  and  other 
causes,  will  produce  great  changes,  both  in  the  matter 
and  form  of  language.  But  whatever  diversities  of 
this  kind  may  have  obtained  in  the  antediluvian 
world,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  Noah  and  his 
ofl'spring,  living,  as  they  did,  in  much  the  same  habits, 
and  in  the  same  quarter  of  the  globe,  would,  at  least 


88  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

for  three  or  four  generations,  be  all  of  the  same  lan- 
guage, and  use,  essentially,  the  same  forms  of  speech. 

But  what  particular  language  was  it,  that  was  now 
in  universal  use?  On  this  question  there  is  a  diversity 
of  opinion;  and,  like  many  other  unimportant  inqui- 
ries, it  is  difficult  to  solve,  with  any  degree  of  cer- 
tainty. Our  limits  will  not  allow  us  to  notice  the 
pretensions  that  have  been  advanced  for  several  of 
the  oriental  tongues.  The  claims  of  the  Hebrew 
appear  to  deserve  the  preference.  This  was  the  lan- 
guage in  which  Moses  wrote; — and,  from  the  sig- 
niiicant  import  of  most  of  the  proper  names,  in  the 
Pentateuch,  or  first  five  books,  in  the  Old  Testament, 
it  seems  probable  that  this  was  the  tongue  spoken  by 
Adam,  and  in  which  he  gave  names  to  the  inferior 
animals,  when  they  were  brought  to  him,  for  that 
purpose,  at  the  creation.  And,  as  men  lived  to  a 
great  age  before  the  flood,  language  would  not,  then, 
be  liable  to  such  rapid  changes  as  take  place  in 
modern  times.  There  were  but  little  more  than  a 
hundred  years  between  the  death  of  Adam  and  the 
birth  of  Noah;  which  makes  it  highly  probable,  that 
if  the  Hebrew  was  the  language  of  the  old  world,  it 
was  also  the  only  one  in  use,  by  Noah  and  his  family, 
till  the  confusion  efi'ected,  by  divine  interposition,  on 
the  plains  of  Shinar. 

From  the  mountains  of  Armenia,  where  the  ark 
rested,  at  the  termination  of  the  deluge,  the  people 
seem  to  have  moved  towards  the  south-east:  and,  as 
the  land  of  Shinar  lay  southward  from  Mount  Ara- 
rat, somewhere  within  the  limits  of  the  country  after- 
wards called  Chaldea,  they  must,  in  approaching  it, 
have  "journied  from  the  east,"  as  Moses  states.  On 
those  once  beautiful  and  fertile  plains,  watered  by  the 
river  Euphrates,  they  resolved  to  found  a  city,  adorn- 
ed with  a  magnificent  tower,  which  should  be  the 
seat  of  empire — the  centre  of  their  extending  settle- 
ments—and the  emporium  of  wealth.  The  materials 
used  for  constructing  these  mighty  works,  were  brick, 
instead  of  stone,  and  a  sort  of  slime,  called  bitumen, 
which  abounded  in  the  place,  and  which  served  as 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  89 

cement.  Their  design,  in  building  a  city^  is  suffi- 
ciently obvious.  Heretofore,  they  had  been  kept 
together  by  the  ties  of  fraternity,  as  also  by  motives 
of  self-defence  from  tlie  encroachments  of  wild  beasts, 
and  by  the  use  of  one  common  language.  But,  on 
finding  their  numbers  increase  rapidly,  it  was  natural 
for  them  to  think  of  erecting  a  metropolis,  or  point 
of  UNION,  whence  they  might  extend  their  settlements, 
and  to  which  they  might  return,  as  occasion  required, 
for  the  purposes  of  trade,  and  the  adjustment  of  any 
disputes  which  might  arise,  in  relation  to  their  pro- 
perty. But  their  object  in  constructing  a  tower, 
whose  top  should  reach  to  heaven,  or  as  the  expres- 
sion imports,  to  an  extraordinary  height,  is  not 
easily  determined.  Some  writers  suppose  it  was  in- 
tended to  be  a  refuge,  in  case  of  a  second  deluge,  or 
extensive  inundation.  Three  considerations  render 
this  conjecture  improbable:  First;  had  this  been  their 
design,  they  would  have  chosen,  as  the  site  of  their 
tower,  not  a  valley,  or  plain,  but  a  mountain.  Mount 
Ararat,  or  some  other  neighbouring  eminence,  would 
have  placed  them  more  out  of  the  way  of  destructive 
floods,  than  the  low  banks  of  the  Euphrates.  Se- 
condly; they  had  received  express  assurance,  by 
covenant,  from  God  himself,  that  the  earth  should 
not,  again,  be  destroyed  by  water; — and  that  too 
within  so  short  a  period,  that  it  could  not  have  been 
forgotten;  especially  as  the  memorial  of  it  was  re- 
peatedly brought  to  their  view  by  the  boiv  in  the 
cloud.  And,  thirdly;  the  expedient  was  inadequate. 
A  pile  of  brick  and  slime  could  not  long  stand  the 
violence  of  the  waters  of  a  flood;  and,  even  if  it  did, 
it  would  aff'ord  a  retreat  for  but  a  small  proportion  of 
their  number. 

Nor  is  it  likely,  that  this  tower  was  intended,  either 
for  idolatrous  purposes,  or  for  making  astronomical 
observations;  though,  we  believe,  it  was  converted  to 
these  uses,  in  after  ages;  when,  with  some  modifica- 
tion, it  became  the  temple  of  Belus,  and  served  as  a 
philosoph ica I  observatory. 

In  the  consultation  which  they  held,  on  the  subject, 
8* 


90  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

two  motives  are  suggested,  for  undertaking  this  stu- 
pendous work.     The  first  is,  the  proud  ambition  of 
rendering  themselves  famous — of  leaving  behind  them 
a  memorial  of  their  wealth  and  power.     "Let  us 
MAKE  us   A   NAME."     This  is  a  motive  which  has 
always  had  too  much  influence  on  man,  ever  since 
his  apostasy  from  God.     These  Babel-builders  were 
more  concerned  for  the  honour  of  their  own  name^ 
than  for  that  of  their  Maker.     Tlie  same  unworthy 
principle  has  done  many  foolish  things,  and  produced 
great  mischief  in.  the  world.     It   has  often  wrought 
faction  in  the  state,  and  schism  in  the  church.     It  has 
written  volumes  of  controversy,  in  politics,  merals, 
and  religion.     It  has  erected  palaces,  mausoleums,  and 
pyramids.     It  has  fought  duels,  and  broken  the  peace 
of  many  families.     Bursting   asunder  the    bonds  of 
brotherhood,  it  has  revolutionized  nations,  and  turned 
the  world  into  a  field  of  blood.     The  other  motive  is 
couched  in  these  words:  "  Lest  we  be  scattered  abroad 
upon  the  face  of  the  whole  earth.^^     They  wanted  a 
sort  of  pharos,  or  beacon,  that  might  be  seen  at  a  vast 
distance,  and   by   which   they  might   regulate   their 
movements,  in  gradually  extending  their  settlements 
out  from  the   MetrojjoUs.     It  may,  also,  have  been 
intended  to  answer  some  useful  purpose  to  the  shep- 
herds, in  attending  their  flocks,  on  distant  mountains; 
and  who,  by  the  frequent  migrations  which  they  were 
obliged  to  make,  for  the  sake  of  good  pasturage,  might, 
otherwise,  have  been  at  a  loss  to  find  their  way  to  the 
capital.     All  this  appears,  at  first  view,  harmless  and 
laudable  enough.     But,  then,  it  is  to  be  remembered, 
that  this  project  of  keeping  together,  and  of  forming 
one  great  and  absorbing  empire,  was  in  direct  oppo- 
sition to  the  design  and  express  command  of  God, 
that  they  should  disperse,  in  companies,  and  replenish 
the  earth.     And  this  design  of  Providence  was  evi- 
dently wise  and  good.     Thorns  and  briers  were  now 
everywhere  springing  up;  wild  beasts  were  rapidly 
increasing;  a  vast  extent  of  the  earth  was  uncultivated 
— while  one  small  portion  of  its  surface  was  over- 
stocked with  people;   which  must  soon  have  given 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  91 

rise  to  contests  about  its  produce.  A  dispersion 
would  remedy  these  evils: — there  was  room  enough; 
and  extended  culture  would  aliord  not  only  a  more 
easy  subsistence  to  the  same  number  of  people,  but 
would  conduce  much  to  the  multiplication  of  the  race, 
and  the  peace  of  the  whole.  Furthermore,  God 
knows  what  is  in  man.  He  knows  that  absolute 
power  cannot  be  safely  entrusted  to  mortal  hands. 
When  once  acquired,  it  is  liable  to  be  maintained  by 
oppression  and  cruelty.  It  seems,  therefore,  to  have 
been  his  benevolent  purpose,  from  the  beginning  of 
the  world,  that  there  should  be  several  distinct  king- 
doms among  men  ; — that  they  should  be  distributed 
into  different  nations,  and  live  under  different  forms 
of  government.  That,  instead  of  a  universal  mon- 
archy, there  should  be  an  opportunity  afforded  of 
maintaining  a  balance  of  power; — and  that  there 
should  never  be  wanting  an  asylum  for  the  oppressed, 
or  a  retreat  for  persecuted  piety.  And  who  does  not 
perceive,  and  admire  the  wisdom  and  benignity  of 
divine  providence  in  all  this?  '^  Whoso  is  wise,  and 
will  observe  these  things,  even  they  shall  understand 
the  loving-kindness  of  the  Lord."  Psalm  cvii.  43. 

"  And  the  Lord  came  down  to  see  the  city  and  the 
tower  which  the  children  of  men  builded."  This 
passage,  like  many  others  in  the  sacred  volume,  is  to 
be  understood  as  spoken  after  the  manner  of  man, 
and  in  condescension  to  our  inability  to  comprehend 
the  mode  in  which  a  spiritual  being  operates.  The 
infinite  God  is  every  where  present,  at  all  times. 
There  is  no  escaping  from  his  notice — no  fleeing  from 
his  Spirit.  When  he  is  said,  therefore,  to  come  specially 
to  any  place,  or  people,  tlie  meaning  is,  that  he  there 
manifests  his  presence  and  displays  his  power,  in  an 
extraordinary  way.  From  its  being  said  here,  that 
the  city  and  tower  were  builded  by  the  children  of 
men,  some  have  supposed  that  Noah,  and  the  few 
pious  of  Shem's  family,  who  were  like-minded,  took 
no  part  in  this  wild  and  wicked  project.  And  this  is 
far  from  being  an  improbable  supposition;  for,  even 
before  the  flood,  the  ungodly  were  called  the  children 


92  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

of  men,  and  the  pious  were  distinguished  by  the 
honourable  title  of  the  sons  of  God.  It  appears, 
however,  from  the  next  verse,  that  the  measure  was 
generally  approved,  and  helped  forward  by  those 
present.  "  And  the  Lord  said,  Behold  the  people  is 
one,  and  they  have  all  one  language."  That  is,  they 
are  united  in  design,  and  their  common  form  of  speech, 
by  which  they  can  readily  carry  on  an  interchange  of 
ideas,  favours  the  execution  of  their  purpose.  "  And 
now  nothing  will  be  restrained  from  them,  which  they 
have  imagined  to  do."  This  expression  conveys  a 
reproof,  and  indicates  the  necessity  of  divine  interpo- 
sition. The  meaning  we  take  to  be  as  follows :  If 
these  people  be  permitted  to  go  on  with  this  device  of 
ambition  and  folly,  they  will  take  encouragement 
from  thence,  to  outrage  my  authority — to  disregard 
my  commands  in  other  matters;  and,  in  following  the 
vain  imaginations  of  their  own  hearts,  they  will  com- 
mit all  manner  of  iniquity,  with  greediness,  and  bring 
upon  themselves  and  their  children,  swift  destruction. 
*'  Go  to,"  therefore,  saith  the  Lord  ;  "  Let  us  go  down, 
and  there  confound  their  language,  that  they  may  not 
understand  one  another's  speech."  Here,  as  in  the 
phraseology  used,  in  regard  to  the  creation  of  man, 
we  have  an  intimation  of  a  plurality  of  persons  in  the 
ADORABLE  GoDHEAD.  "  Let  US  go  dovvu,"  is  a  phrase 
which  seems  to  indicate  pretty  strongly,  what  is  fully 
and  unequivocally  taught  in  the  New  Testament; 
viz.  that  God  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  is 
the  only  proper  object  of  religious  homage  and  adora- 
tion. This  is  indeed  a  great  mystery ;  but,  to  our 
mind,  it  is  not  more  mysterious  or  incomprehensible 
than  is  the  eternity  or  omnipresence  of  the  Divine 
Being,  which,  it  were  blank  Atheism,  not  to  believe 
and  acknowledge. 

"  So  the  Lord  scattered  them  abroad  from  thence 
upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth ;  and  they  left  off  to  build 
the  city.  Therefore  is  the  name  of  it  called  Babel, 
i.  e.  confusion,  because  the  Lord  did  there  confound 
the  language  of  all  the  earth."  Thus  we  see,  the 
confounding  of  their  language,  was   the   means  of 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  93 

arresting  the  visionary  scheme  which  these  men  of 
Shinar  were  bent  on  carrying  into  effect;  and, in  tlieir 
dispersion,  the  purpose  of  Jehovah  triumphed  over  the 
evil  devices  and  proud  designs  of  man. 

But  if  it  was  necessary  that  these  people  should  be 
scattered  abroad  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth,  why 
did  God  take  this  method  to  effect  their  dispersion? 
Jehovah  does  his  own  work  in  his  own  way;  "and 
let  all  the  earth  be  silent  before  him."  He  might 
have  opened  his  water-spouts  upon  them,  or  com- 
missioned the  fires  of  heaven  to  consume  them  and 
their  works  of  vanity;  but  he  is  slow  to  wrath,  and 
delights  in  mercy.  He  meant  to  show  that  he  re- 
gards what  is  done  on  earth;  and,  in  this  measure  of 
his  righteous  government,  he  has  furnished  to  future 
generations,  a  memento  of  his  power  and  providence, 
as  touching  the  affairs  of  men,  in  that  diversity  of 
languages,  which  continues  to  this  time,  and  wMch 
will,  probably,  continue  to  the  end  of  the  world.  But 
would  not  the  dispersion  have  taken  place,  in  time, 
without  any  miraculous  influence?  Yes;  but  not 
in  all  probability,  without  wrangling  and  bloodshed. 
How  many  languages,  then,  were  produced?  No 
more  than  were  necessary  to  answer  the  purpose  con- 
templated. We  are  not  to  suppose  an  entire  confu- 
sion, so  that  no  two  individuals  could  understand  one 
another.  It  seems  likely  that  each  family,  or  tribe, 
had  its  common  form  of  speech.  But  whether  there 
were  three,  sixteen,  or  sevenfy-two,  we  are  not  in- 
formed, and  it  were  idle  for  us  to  inquire.  The  He- 
brew continued  in  the  family  of  Shem,  in  the  line  of 
Heber,  from  whose  name  the  language,  probably,  took 
its  designation;  and  his  descendants,  in  the  hue  of 
Abram,  were  called  Hebrews.  But  were  the  people 
of  Shinar  driven  away  from  their  projected  seat  of 
empire,  with  precipitancy,  and  in  wild  disorder? 
Moses  has  not  said  so: — nor  is  it  credible.  God  is  a 
God  of  order.  Though  the  tower  ceased  to  rise,  time 
was,  doubtless,  afforded  for  an  orderly  departure  from 
the  scene  of  folly  and  discomfiture.  But  we  must 
conclude.     The  facts  recorded  in  this  portion  of  Bib- 


94  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

lical  history,  are  corroborated  by  several  profane  and 
foreign  writers.  Tiie  fable  of  the  giants  making  an 
attempt  upon  the  gods,  in  heathen  mythology,  doubt- 
less owes  its  origin  to  an  obscure  tradition  respecting 
the  tower  of  Babel.  The  substance  of  what  the  an- 
cient Pagan  historians  say  on  this  subject,  is,  "  that  a 
huge  tower  was  built,  by  gigantic  men,  at  Babylon — 
that  there  was  then  but  one  language  among  man- 
kind— that  the  attempt  was  offensive  to  the  gods — 
and  that,  therefore,  they  demolished  the  tower,  over- 
whelmed the  workmen,  divided  their  language,  and 
dispersed  them  over  the  face  of  the  whole  earth." 

One  practical  lesson  is  fairly  deducible  from  the 
theme  of  this  lecture;  and  that  is  a  lesson  of  humility 
and  submission  to  God.  The  Creator  unquestionably 
governs  the  world  in  righteousness.  All  his  com- 
mands are  just  and  good.  He  knows  what  is  best 
for*iis.  He  has  taught  us  our  duty,  in  the  lively  ora- 
cles; and  we  cannot  slight  his  authority,  or  despise 
his  grace,  with  impunity.  "Wo  to  him  that  striv- 
eth  with  his  Maker!"  Though  hand  join  hand,  the 
wicked  shall  not  go  unpunished.  Let  us  not,  there- 
fore, spend  our  time,  or  waste  our  strength,  in  Babel- 
bmlding.  "  He  builds  too  low,  who  builds  beneath 
the  skies."  Lay  up  treasure  in  heaven.  Secure  a 
place  in  the  house  not  made  with  hands.  Instead  of 
attempting,  like  the  men  of  Shinar,  to  make  your- 
selves a  name,  be  zealous  for  the  honour  of  God's 
name,  and  he  will  take  care  of  you,  as  in  the  life  that 
now  is,  so  also  in  that  which  is  to  come.  Renounce 
the  world,  the  devil,  and  the  flesh.  Forsake  your 
sins; — believe  in  Christ; — obey  his  gospel; — walk  as 
he  walked;  —  repose  your  undivided  confidence  in 
him;  and  when  the  workers  of  iniquity  shall  read 
their  folly,  by  the  light  of  eternity,  in  the  ruins  of 
their  Babel-schemes  of  happiness,  you  shall  be  safe, 
and  live  to  participate  in  heaven's  highest,  sweetest, 
loudest  anthem  o{ praise,  to  Him  that  sitteth  on  the 
throne,  and  to  Jesus,  the  mediator  of  the  new  cove- 
nant, who  loved  us,  and  washed  us  from  our  sins,  in 
his  own  blood.     Amen. 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  95 


LECTURE  X. 


THE    CALLING    OF    ABRAM. 


Now  the  Lord  had  said  unto  Abram,  Get  thee  out  of  thy  country,  and 
from  thy  kindred,  and  from  thy  father's  house,  unto  a  land  that  I 
•will  show  thee:  And  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation,  and  I  will 
bless  thee,  and  make  thy  name  great ;  and  thou  shalt  be  a  bless, 
ing:  And  I  will  bless  them  that  bless  thee,  and  curse  him  that 
curseth  thee ;  and  in  thee  shall  all  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed. 
So  Abram  departed,  as  the  Lord  had  spoken  unto  him ;  and  Lot 
went  with  him :  and  Abram  was  seventy  and  five  years  old  when 
he  departed  out  of  Haran.  And  Abram  took  Sarai  his  wife,  and 
Lot  his  brother's  son,  and  all  their  substance  that  they  had  gathered, 
and  the  souls  that  they  had  gotten  in  Haran ;  and  they  went  forth 
to  go  into  the  land  of  Canaan  ;  and  into  the  land  of  Canaan  they 
came. — Gen.  xii.  1-5. 

The  calling  of  Abram  forms  an  important  epoch  in 
the  history  of  the  Bible.  It  took  place  four  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  years  after  the  deluge ;  i.  e.  in  the 
year  of  the  world  two  thousand  and  eighty-three,  and 
before  the  birth  of  Christ,  one  thousand  nine  hundred 
and  twenty-one.  He  was  a  descendant  of  Shem,  at 
the  distance  of  ten  generations.  His  father's  name 
was  Terah ;  and  he  had  two  brothers,  viz.  Nahor 
and  Haran,  both  older  than  himself,  and  a  nephew, 
named  Lot,  a  son  of  Haran,  and  who  is  associated 
with  him  in  the  subsequent  history.  The  family 
lived  in  Chaldea,  in  a  place  called  ^'  Ur  of  the  Chal- 
dees."  Here  it  was  that  Abram  received  the  first 
intimation  that  he  and  his  family  were  to  be  made 
the  depository  of  true  religion,  for  the  accomphsh- 
ment  of  heaven's  merciful  designs  towards  our  guilty 
race.  But  the  purpose  of  God  was  not  fully  revealed 
to  him  till  some  years  after  this  period.  The  Chal- 
deans, it  seems  probable,  had  now  become  corrupt  in 


96  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    IIISTOllY. 

their  religion.  Dr.  Sluickford,  and  several  oilier 
learned  writers,  are  of  opinion,  that  they  had  fallen 
into  that  absurd  form  of  idolatry  which  consists  in 
worshipping  fire;  that  Ur,  a  name  which  signifies 
fire,  was  then  the  seat  of  this  foolish  practice;  that, 
upon  Terah's  attempting  a  reformation,  a  rupture 
took  place  between  his  family  and  the  rulers  of  Chal- 
dea,  which  led  to  the  expulsion  of  him  and  his  ad- 
herents from  that  country.  Be  this  as  it  may,  Terah 
with  Abram,  Nahor  and  his  sons,  and  with  Lot  the 
son  of  Haran,  (for  Haran  himself  died  in  Ur  of  the 
Chaldees,)  left  that  place  in  quest  of  a  new  and  more 
comfortable  settlement:  and  having  found  a  pleasant 
tract  of  country  in  Mesopotamia,  they  halted  and. 
began  to  make  some  improvements.  They  built  a 
small  town,  wliich  they  called  the  city  of  Nahor,  and 
gave  to  the  country  the  name  of  Haran,  their  deceased 
relative,  whose  remains  they  had  left  in  Chaldea. 
Here  Terah  died;  and  after  his  death,  corruption 
creeping  into  his  family,  many  of  them  apostatized 
from  God  and  became  idolaters.  It  was  here,  and  on 
this  occasion,  that  the  call  was  repeated  to  Abram, 
in  a  way,  doubtless,  which  satisfied  him  that  it  was 
from  God,  to  come  out,  and  be  separate  from  the 
workers  of  iniquity;  to  maintain  the  worship  bf  Je- 
hovah in  the  midst  of  surrounding  corruption;  to  for- 
sake all  who  would  not  join  him  in  that  reasonable 
service ;  to  follow  the  Lord  whithersoever  he  might 
conduct  him,  and  to  yield  himself  entirely  to  the  care 
of  his  providence  and  the  influence  of  his  grace. 

To  the  nature  and  desi^^n  of  this  call,  and  to  the 
promptitude  with  which  Abram  obeyed  it,  your  atten- 
tion is  now  requested.  And  these  are  topics  worthy 
our  attention;  for,  in  the  family  of  Abram,  if  I  mis- 
take not,  you  are  to  look  for  the  visible  church  of 
God  in  its  post-diluvian  infancy.  It  is  true,  that,  be- 
fore this  time,  there  were  persons  in  the  world  who 
feared  the  Lord  and  thought  upon  his  name ;  who 
worshipped  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  and  were 
blessed  in  their  deed.  But  these  were  the  Lord's 
liidden  ones — they  were  not  formed  into  a  commu- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  97 

nity  distinct,  or  easily  distinguishable,  from  the  rest  of 
mankind;  whereas,  now,  at  the  caUing  of  Abrani,  a 
church  was  organized  and  made  clearly  visible,  that 
is,  a  people  were  called  out  from  the  world,  united, 
by  divine  authority,  in  the  belief  of  revealed  truth, 
and  in  the  observance  of  certain  rites  and  ordinances 
of  divine  appointment,  with  a  view  to  the  glory  of  the 
Creator,  and  the  happiness  of  his  faithful  worshippers; 
which  is  the  true  import  of  the  term  church.  We 
hope,  also,  to  make  it  appear  in  the  sequel,  that  the 
Abrahamic  vocation  and  covenant  constitute  a  part 
of  the  gracious  scheme  of  redemption  by  the  blood  of 
Christ ;  that  the  measure  was  adopted  in  wisdom ; 
that  there  was  in  it  no  indication  of  partiality,  or 
favouritism,  on  the  part  of  God;  and  that  its  influence 
on  the  state  of  the  world  has  been,  in  a  high  degree, 
salutary  and  beneficent.  And,  it  may  be,  that,  in  the 
readiness  with  which  the  father  of  the  faithful  obeyed 
the  heavenly  summons,  we  shall  find  an  example  at 
once  animating  to  the  people  of  God,  and  worthy  the 
imitation  of  all  who  would  wish  to  become  the  chil- 
dren of  Abraham,  by  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus. 

I.  For  a  right  understanding  of  the  nature  of  this 
call,  we  must  look  carefully  at  the  meaning  of  the 
terms  in  which  it  is  communicated.  These  are  intel- 
ligible, expressive,  and  peremptory:  "  Get  thee  out  of 
thy  country,  and  from  thy  kindred,  and  from  thy 
father's  house,  unto  a  land  that  I  will  show  thee." — 
Country,  kindred,  and  paternal  residence,  are  all  to 
be  forsaken  in  obedience  to  the  divine  command. 
This  appears  to  be  a  hard  condition.  The  love  of  our 
country  is  an  amiable  affection ;  and  it  is  one  which 
generally  gains  strength  as  we  advance  in  years. 
Habit  incorporates  and  establishes  it  as  a  principle  of 
our  nature;  so  that  few  men,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
five  years,  the  age  to  which  Abram  had  now  at- 
tained, are  easily  persuaded  to  encounter  the  sacri- 
fices and  hardships  attendant  on  a  change  of  country. 
To  our  kindred  we  are  connected  by  the  most  endear- 
ing ties,  and  to  part  from  them  without  any  hope  of 
being  restored  to  their  society  and  embraces,  is  like 
9 


98  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

resigning  a  portion  of  onr  own  flesh  and  blood.  This 
we  feel  when  onr  friends  remove  from  ns  to  a  distant 
part  of  the  world;  and,  especially,  when  death  makes 
a  breach  in  onr  domestic  circle,  and  consigns  to  the 
darkness  of  the  grave,  the  desire  of  our  eyes,  the 
child  of  our  love,  the  companion  of  our  social  com- 
forts. Abram  was  not  required  to  leave  all  his  rela- 
tives, for  some  of  them  chose  to  accompany  him  and 
join  with  him  in  the  true  worship  of  God;  but  those 
who  served  the  creature  rather  than  the  Creator,  who 
complied  with  the  idolatrous  practices  of  the  country, 
or  indulged  in  licentiousness  and  vice,  were  to  be  for- 
saken, as  companions,  on  the  principle,  that  "Evil 
communications  corrupt  good  manners.'^ 

It  is  not  probable  that  the  inhabitants  of  Canaan 
were  a  better  people  than  those  of  either  Ur  or  Haran ; 
but,  being  stranger^s,  the  influence  of  their  bad  ex- 
ample, and  wicked  maxims,  w^ould  be  less  likely 
to  prove  pernicious  to  Abram  and  his  family.  An 
ungodly  relative,  or  an  intimate  associate  and  old 
acquaintance,  of  a  bad  character,  is  a  much  more 
dangerous  com.panion  than  a  stranger,  into  whose 
company  we  may  be  occasionally  thrown  in  the 
transaction  of  business,  and  to  whom  we  feel  no 
other  attachment  than  that  of  humanity  and  good 
will.  So  frail  are  we,  and  liable  to  be  overcome  of 
evil,  that  natural  aflfection  and  personal  respect  may, 
in  an  unguarded  moment,  shake  our  faith,  or  diminish 
our  sense  of  duty  to  God  our  Saviour.  Hence,  our 
blessed  Lord  declares,  expressly,  that  instances  shall 
occur,  in  w^iiich,  "  A  man's  foes  shall  be  those  of  his 
own  household/'  Matt.  x.  36.  "And  thy  father's 
house."  A  father's  house  comprises  charms  of  en- 
dearment, which  every  one  feels;  but  which  no  lan- 
guage can  rightly  describe.  It  is  the  place  where  we 
are  first  visited  by  the  preventing  benignity  of  Provi- 
dence. Here  it  is  that  we  are  fed  and  protected  with 
parental  tenderness.  Here  it  is  that  we  begin  to 
walk,  to  speak,  to  love,  and  to  sympathize.  Here  we 
receive  our  first  religious  ideas — are  taught  to  pray — 
to  read — to  think,  and  to  sing  of  redeeming  mercy. 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  99 

In  a  word,  it  is  the  scene  of  our  earliest,  and,  gene- 
rally, of  our  purest  pleasures.  The  principle  of  asso- 
ciation makes  its  very  defects  deliglitful  in  our  esteem: 
and  to  quit  it,  with  no  rational  prospect  of  seeing  it 
again,  is  always  a  painful  trial.  Abram  could  not 
have  been  insensible  to  it.  The  family  had  made  one 
removal,  from  Ur  to  Haran.  Here  they  had  built  a 
city,  and  were  flattering  themselves  no  doubt,  with 
the  pleasant  idea  of  dwelling  together  in  unity.  Te- 
rah  had  deceased;  but  here  was  his  sepitlchre,  and 
the  venerated  seat  of  his  late  residence.  A  thousand 
objects  would  conspire  to  attach  the  children  to  the 
spot  where  the  father's  ashes  were  deposited.  Abram 
himself,  had  now  arived  at  that  period  of  life,  when 
the  spirit  of  enterprise  and  experimenting  usually 
gives  place  to  tlie  love  of  tranquillity  and  home.  But 
God  commands  him  to  arise  and  go  forth ;  and,  as 
a  good  man,  he  may  neither  hesitate,  nor  inquire 
whither  or  wherefore.  Behold  here,  reader,  the  grand 
and  fundamental  principle  of  practical  piety!  supreme 
regard  to  the  authority  and  will  of  God.  Without 
this,  our  religion  is  but  a  name — a  shadow — a  dream 
— a  thing  of  no  value.  Difficulties  and  doubts  may, 
and  often  do  arise,  respecting  what  God  does  require 
of  us.  And  here  wisdom  is  profitable  to  direct;  our 
judgment  is  to  be  exercised,  and  our  decision  formed, 
in  the  light  of  such  evidence  as  we  may  be  able  to 
collect  on  the  subject.  And  should  we  err  through 
weakness,  or  invincible  ignorance,  we  may  hope  tor 
pardon;  for  he,  who  made  us,  knows  our  frame  and 
remembers  that  we  are  dust;  and  "there  is  forgive- 
ness with  him,  that  he  may  be  feared."  But  in  a 
plain  case,  where  the  law  of  our  duty  is  intelligible 
and  explicit,  as  the  Bible  makes  it,  in  all  important 
matters,  we  may  neither  gainsay  nor  expostulate. 
Nor  need  we  be  backward  to  render  prompt  obe- 
dience in  every  instance;  for,  though  the  Almighty 
acts  and  commands  as  a  sovereign,  yet,  from  the  per- 
fection of  his  nature,  we  are  assured  that  all  his  ways 
are  right,  and  all  his  commandments  holy  and  good. 
His  will  is  the  true  and  only  standard  of  right,  and 


100  LECTURES    OX    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

forms  the  immutable  distinction  between  moral  good 
and  evil.  Men  who  talk  of  ascertaining  what  is  duty, 
by  a  reference  to  the  law  of  nature  and  nations — the 
fitness  of  things — the  dictates  of  right  reason — of 
common  sense — of  humanity — of  conscience — the  law 
of  honour,  &lc.,  do  but  darken  counsel  by  words  with- 
out knowledge.  These  are  mutable  things,  and  par- 
take largely  of  that  fallibility  and  imperfection  which 
characterize  the  human  mind,  in  its  best,  and  most 
highly  cultivated  state.  But,  in  him,  who  does  his 
pleasure  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  there  is  neither  va- 
riableness nor  shadow  of  turning.  Blessed  are  they 
that  do  his  commandments,  hearkening  to  the  voice 
of  his  word ! — Abram  was  required  to  leave  his  home, 
his  friends,  and  his  country,  for  a  land  as  yet  unde- 
fined, and  to  him  utterly  unknown.  And  relying  on 
the  power,  submitting  to  the  will,  and  confiding  in 
the  truth  and  goodness  of  the  Lord,  '•  he  went  out, 
not  knowing  whither  he  went." 

Nor  is  it  a  vain  thing  to  serve  the  Lord,  however 
repulsive  or  painful  it  may  seem  to  our  depravity  and 
self-will.  The  sinner  who  submits  to  God,  thereby, 
repairs  to  the  throne  of  grace,  accepts  of  mercy,  and 
takes  shelter  under  the  wings  of  the  Almighty.  Abram 
did  so;  and  he  was  blessed,  and  made  a  blessing  to 
many.  He  knew  whom  he  believed;  and  he  had  the 
best  possible  ground  to  expect  both  grace  and  glory. 
His  faith  rested  securely  on  the  sure  word  of  testi- 
mony— even  on  the  word  of  the  Lord  which  endureth 
for  ever. 

n.  We  inquire,  secondly,  into  the  design  of  this 
extraordinary  call.  God  does  nothing  in  vain.  Every 
precept  of  iiis  word,  every  ordinance  of  his  appoint- 
ment, and  every  act  of  his  providence  has  for  its  ob- 
ject the  accomplishment  of  some  great  and  good  end. 
Of  the  end  to  be  answered  by  the  dispensation,  now 
under  consideration,  we  have  a  concise  and  compre- 
hensive view  in  the  text:  "And  I  will  make  of  thee  a 
great  nation,  and  I  will  bless  thee,  and  make  thy 
name  great;  and  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing.  And  I 
will  bless  tliem  that  bless  thee,  and  curse  him  that 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  101 

cnrseth  thee:  and,  in  thee,  shall  all  families  of  the 
earth  be  blessed/' 

These  words,  I  think,  warrant  us  to  consider  the 
design,  as  three-fold;  viz.  The  glory  of  God;  the 
happiness  of  Abram;  and  the  good  of  mankind  in 
general. 

First,  the  glory  of  God.  This  is  the  highest,  the 
holiest,  and  the  best  end  that  can  be  named  or  con- 
ceived of  by  men  or  angels.  And  it  is  obviously 
implied,  in  the  first  clause  of  the  passage  of  Sacred 
Writ,  just  cited:  "I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  na- 
tion." That  is,  as  the  subsequent  history  authorizes 
us  to  expound  the  promise,  I  will  distinguish  thee 
and  thy  descendants  from  all  other  people,  by  my 
presence,  my  favour,  my  power,  my  truths,  and  my 
ordinances.  I  will  make  of  thee  a  pecuhar  people — 
a  nation  of  which  I  will  be  both  king  and  lawgiver; 
a  nation  in  which  I  will  manifest  my  providence,  my 
justice,  my  munificence,  patience  and  clemency; — a 
nation  with  which  I  will  deposit  my  oracles,  and  es- 
tablish a  covenant  comprising  blessings  temporal,  spi- 
ritual and  eternal; — a  nation  which,  though  full  of 
fauUs,  and  guilty  of  frequent  partial  apostasies,  shall 
yet,  in  the  main,  be  zealous  for  my  honour,  and  for  the 
purity  of  my  worship.  And  who  does  not  perceive 
that  the  glory  of  Jehovah  was  maintained  and  pro- 
moted in  the  world  by  these  exhibitions  of  his  charac- 
ter, and  of  his  claims  to  the  homage  of  his  intelligent 
creatures?  Once  and  again,  had  all  flesh  corrupted 
their  ways,  and  forsaken  the  Lord  that  made  tliem. 
Scarcely  had  the  waters  of  the  deluge  dried  up,  when 
men,  growing  vain  in  their  imaginations,  "  began  to 
change  the  glory  of  the  incorruptible  God  into  an 
image  made  like  to  corruptible  man,  and  to  birds 
and  fourfooted  beasts  and  creeping  things."  The 
Chaldeans  paid  divine  honours  to  fire — the  Persians 
worshipped  the  host  of  heaven — and  Egypt  ranked 
among  her  numerous  divinities,  the  ox,  the  crocodile, 
and  the  serpent.  So  that,  had  not  God  chosen  a  pco- 
pie  for  his  praise,  and  dwelt  among  them  by  the  visi- 
ble symbols  of  liis  presence,  his  very  name  would 
9* 


102  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

soon  have  been  forgotten  nnd  lost,  amidst  the  rabble 
of  imnginar}"  deities,  the  spawn  of  hnman  depravity 
and  ignorance. 

Secondly,  the  honour  and  happiness  of  Mram. 
"I  will  bless  thee,  and  make  thy  name  great :  and  I 
will  bless  them  that  bless  thee,  and  cnrse  him  that 
cnrseth  thee."  If  the  Lord  tries  his  people,  and  re- 
quires them  to  exercise  self-denial,  and  to  follow  him 
in  a  wa}^  which  they  have  not  known,  it  is  for  their 
good,  as  they  shall  assuredly  find  in  the  issue.  Abram 
was  tried;  and  he  was  blessed — blessed  personally 
and  relatively,  temporarily,  and  eternally.  God  mani- 
fested himself  to  him  in  a  variety  of  instances:  pro- 
tected him  by  his  power,  and  comforted  him  by  his 
grace.  Wherever  Abram  made  any  considerable 
stay  in  the  course  of  his  pilgrimage,  there  he  built  an 
altar  unto  the  Lord,  and  there  Jehovah  condescended 
to  accept  his  offerings,  and  strengthen  his  faith,  by 
renewing  the  promises ;  affording  him  more  enlarged 
views  of  his  great  and  merciful  designs  towards  him 
and  his  seed,  and,  through  that  channel,  to  a  lost  and 
guilty  world.  He  was  given  to  see  the  Redeemer's 
da}?-,  and  made  to  joy  and  rejoice  in  him,  as  the  desire 
of  nations.  "I  will  make  thy  name  great.'^  This 
promise  has  been  clearly  fulfilled.  Abram,  though 
not  distinguished  as  a  statesman,  a  warrior,  a  great 
genius,  an  inventor  of  arts,  or  writer  of  books,  is, 
nevertheless,  the  most  famous  man  that  ever  lived. 
Not  only  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,  but  the  Arabians, 
his  descendants  in  the  line  of  Ishmael,  glory  in  re- 
tracing their  descent  from  the  father  of  the  faithful. 
The  apostle  Paul  speaks  of  him  in  a  way  which 
shows  that  God  delighted  to  honour  him,  and  make 
his  name  great,  to  the  latest  generations,  when  he 
savs.  "believers  in  Christ  are  blessed  with  faithful 
Abraham."  And  again,  "we  are  all  the  children  of 
Abraham  by  faith."  The  apostle  James,  in  a  few 
short  words,  passes  upon  him  an  eulogium  of  rare 
eminence  and  glory:  "  Abraham  was  called  the  friend 
of  God."  James  ii.  23.  And  our  Saviour,  in  the 
parable  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus,  makes  Abra- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  103 

ham's  bosom  the  emblem  of  heaven.  Thus  has  God 
made  his  name  great. 

He  was,  also,  blessed  relntively.  The  covennnt 
was  renewed  with  Isaac — with  Jacob  and  his  sons. 
The  famihes  of  Israel  were  protected  in  Egypt,  and 
at  the  appointed  time,  brought  out  of  bondage  with  a 
strong  hand  and  an  outstretched  arm.  A  way  was 
opened  for  them  through  the  Red  Sea  ;  and,  for  the 
space  of  forty  years,  they  were  fed  with  bread  from 
heaven,  and  furnished  with  water  from  the  rock.  To 
tliem,  by  the  ministry  of  Moses,  the  law  was  given 
from  the  Arabian  mount,  and  at  length  they  were 
introduced  into  a  goodly  land,  according  to  the  pro- 
mise made  four  hundred  and  thirty  years  before,  unto 
their  honoured  progenitor,  the  friend  of  God.  Here 
Jehovah  dwelt  among  them,  in  the  tabernacle  and  in 
the  temple,  in  the  Shechina,  and  between  the  cheru- 
bim, on  the  mercy-seat.  What  nation  or  people  un- 
der the  whole  heaven,  have  been  favoured  like  this 
people  ?  To  them,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  the  Shiloh 
came,  as  to  his  own  ;  and  though,  generally  speaking, 
they  received  him  not,  yet  it  is  remarkable,  that  from 
among  them  he  selected  the  first  ministers  of  his  gospel; 
and  trie  New  Testament  teaches  us  that,  when  that 
blindness,  which  has  happened  to  them,  in  part,  shall 
be  removed,  they  shall  be  restored  to  their  vacant 
place  in  the  olive  tree,  and  all  Israel  shall  be  saved. 

But,  finally,  this  call  of  Abram  had  respect  to  the. 
moral  improvement  and  xoeJfare  of  the  ivorlcl — 
"  Thou  shalt  be  a  blessing — and  in  thee  shall  all  fami- 
lies  of  the  earth  be  blessed."  Now  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  Abram,  like  every  good  man,  was  a  bless- 
ing to  his  family,  and  those  who  had  any  acquaintance 
with  him.  He  may  have  been  a  blessing  also,  to 
many  in  later  times,  who  have  perused  the  history  of 
his  trials  and  his  triumphant  faith.  But  how  are  all 
families  of  the  earth  blessed,  or  to  be  blessed  in  him  ? 
Can  this  be  in  any  other  way  than  that  the  covenant 
established  with  him,  is  founded  on  the  covenant  of 
grace,  of  which  Jesus  Christ,  his  illustrious  descendant, 
according  to  the  flesh,  is  Mediator?     This  covenant 


104  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

and  its  seal  of  circumcision  will  be  the  theme  of  a 
subsequent  lecture.  We  only  remark  here,  that  in 
order  to  find  any  sober  sense  in  this  promise,  it  ap- 
pears to  us  absolutely  necessary  to  admit  that  it  has 
its  ultimate  fulfilment  in  our  blessed  Redeemer;  be- 
cause neither  Abram  nor  any  of  his  descendants, 
except  Christ,  ever  was,  in  any  tolerable  sense,  a 
blessing,  or  means  of  happiness  to  all  the  families  of 
the  earth.  The  excellent  Matthew  Henry  has  three . 
short  remarks  on  the  passage  of  sacred  history  which 
we  have  been  considering,  with  which  we  shall  con- 
clude this  lecture. 

"  Those  who  serve  and  follow  God  themselves, 
should  do  all  they  can  to  bring  others  to  serve  and 
follow  him  too.  Those  souls  they  are  said  to  have 
gained :  and  we  must  reckon  ourselves  true  gainers 
if  we  can  but  win  souls  to  Christ. 

"  Those  who  set  out  for  heaven  must  persevere  to 
the  end,  still  reaching  forth  to  those  things  that  are 
before. 

^'  That  which  we  undertake  in  obedience  to  God's 
command,  and  a  humble  attendance  on  his  provi- 
dence, will  certainly  succeed,  and  end  with  comfort 
at  last.'' 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  105 


LECTURE  XI 


THE  ABRAHAMIC  COVENANT. 

And  when  Abrani  was  ninety  years  old  and  nine,  the  Lord  appeared 
to  Abram,  and  said  unto  him,  I  am  the  Ahniglity  God;  walii  be- 
fore me,  and  be  thou  perfect.  And  I  will  make  my  covenant 
between  mc  and  thee ;  and  will  multiply  thee  exceedingly.  And 
Abram  fell  on  his  face :  and  God  talked  with  him,  saying,  As  for 
me,  behold  my  covenant  is  with  thee,  and  thou  shalt  be  a  father 
of  many  nations.  Neither  shall  thy  name  any  more  be  called 
Abram;  but  thy  name  shall  be  Abraham  :  for  a  father  of  many  na- 
tions have  I  made  thee.  And  I  will  make  thee  exceeding  fruitful, 
and  I  will  make  nations  of  thee;  and  kings  shall  come  out  of  thee. 
And  I  will  establish  my  covenant  between  me  and  thee,  and  thy 
seed  after  thee  in  their  generations,  ibr  an  everlasting  covenant; 
to  be  a  God  unto  thee,  and  to  thy  seed  after  thee.  And  I  will  give 
unto  thee,  and  to  thy  seed  after  thee,  the  land  wherein  thou  art  a 
stranger,  all  the  land  of  Canaan,  for  an  everlasting  possession;  and 
I  will  be  their  God.  And  God  said  unto  Abraham,  Thou  shalt 
keep  my  covenant  therefore,  thou,  and  thy  seed  after  thee,  in  their 
generations.  This  is  my  covenant  which  ye  shall  keep  between 
me  and  you,  and  thy  seed  after  thee :  Every  man-child  among  you 
shall  be  circumcised.  And  ye  shall  circumcise  the  flesh  of  your 
foreskin;  and  it  shall  be  a  token  of  the  covenant  betwixt  me 
and  you.  And  he  that  is  eight  days  old  shall  be  circumcised 
among  you,  every  man-child  in  your  generations ;  he  that  is  born 
in  the  house,  or  bought  with  money  of  any  stranger,  which  is  not 
of  thy  seed.  He  that  is  born  in  thy  house,  and  he  that  is  bought 
with  thy  money,  must  needs  be  circumcised  :  and  my  covenant 
shall  be  in  your  flesh  for  an  everlasting  covenant.  And  the  uncir- 
cumcised  man-child,  whose  flesh  of  his  foreskin  is  not  circumcised, 
that  soul  shall  be  cut  off"  from  his  people  ;  he  hath  broken  my  cove- 
nant."— Gen.  xvii.  1-14. 

The  life  of  Abram  is  instructive,  and  deserving  of 
special  regard,  chiefly,  because  it  is  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  the  church.  In  him  was 
eminently  displayed  the  power,  the  efficacy,  and  the 


106  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

consoling  influence  of  divine  grace.  And  in  him  and 
his  family,  if  I  mistake  not,  we  find  the  visible  church, 
organized,  owned,  and  guarded  by  the  special  favour 
of  divine  providence.  Pious  individuals  there  un- 
doubtedly were  in  the  world  before  this  period;  but 
they  were  in  a  scattered  condition,  and  mainly  dis- 
tinguished from  the  mass  of  mankind  by  their  per- 
sonal integrity,  and  devotional  habits.  Whereas,  in 
the  days  of  Abram,  we  find  a  people  called  of  God; 
made  the  depository  of  his  truth  and  ordinances;  taken 
into  covenant  relation  with  the  Most  High ;  and  re- 
cognized, as  his  professed  worshippers  and  servants, 
by  a  religious  rite  of  his  own  appointment. 

In  the  passage  of  Scripture  now  before  us,  we  have 
an  account  of  a  transaction,  which  bears  all  the  marks 
of  a  covenant.  The  design  of  this  covenant,  its  pro- 
visions and  promises,  its  seal  and  its  sanction,  with 
the  practical  lessons  which  it  teaches,  are  the  main 
points  to  which  our  attention  will  be  directed  in  the 
present  lecture. 

I.  We  cannot  think  that  the  sole,  or  even  principal 
design  of  this  covenant,  was  to  give  assurance  to 
Abram  of  a  numerous  progeny,  and  that  he  and  his 
family  should  be  protected  and  provided  for,  in  their 
sojournings,  and  that  they  should,  ultimately,  be  put 
in  possession  of  the  land  of  Canaan.  All  this  had 
been  promised  once  and  again — nay,  had  been  guar- 
anteed by  solemn  compact,  as  may  be  seen  in  Genesis 
XV.,  from  the  7th  verse  to  the  end.  And  God  said 
unto  Abram,  "  I  am  the  Lord  that  brought  thee  out 
of  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  to  give  thee  this  land  to  inherit 
it.  And  he  (i.  e.  Abram,)  said.  Lord  God,  whereby 
shall  I  know  that  I  shall  inherit  it?"  Whereupon  he 
is  directed  to  prepare  a  sacrifice,  consisting  of  several 
animals.  He  did  so:  and  having  disposed  of  the 
parts  in  due  form,  with  the  sections  opposite  each 
other  agreably  to  custom,  a  deep  sleep  and  an  horror 
of  great  darkness  fell  upon  him;  his  senses  were 
closed  to  all  other  objects,  and  the  Lord  revealed  to 
him  his  designs  respecting  himself  and  family;  taught 
him  that  they  should   be  in  bondage  four  hundred 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  107 

years;  but  that,  in  due  time,  they  should  come  into 
the  promised  land,  where  he  himself  should  be  buried 
in  a  good  old  age.  A  smoking  furnace  and  a  burn- 
ing lamp  passed  between  the  parts  of  the  sacrifice,  as 
a  token  of  the  ratification  of  the  promise.  "  In  that 
same  day,  the  Lord  made  a  covenant  with  Abram, 
saying,  Unto  thy  seed  have  I  given  this  land,  from 
the  river  of  Egypt,  unto  the  great  river  Euphrates." 
Now,  let  it  be  observed,  that  this  sign  was  given  to 
Abram,  for  the  express  purpose  of  confirming  his 
faith  in  the  promise,  that  his  posterity  should  inherit 
Canaan.  Nothing  is  said  here,  of  all  the  families  of 
the  earth  being  blessed  in  him;  no  token  is  instituted 
to  be  applied  to  his  seed,  in  their  generations:  a  cir- 
cumstance that  distinguishes  the  compact,  into  the  de- 
sign of  which  we  are  going  to  inquire.  In  one  word, 
temporal  blessings  only  seem  to  have  been  the  subject 
matter  of  the  transaction  just  alluded  to;  whereas  the 
covenant  of  circtmicision  has  a  deeper,  a  more  last- 
ing, and  important  aim,  as  we  hope  to  show  in  the 
sequel. 

Nor  are  we  satisfied  with  that  view  of  the  transac- 
tion, now  under  consideration,  wliich  represents  it  as  a 
renewal  or  formal  exhibition  of  the  covenant  of  grace. 
We  suppose,  indeed,  that  the  mediation  of  Christ  is 
the  basis  of  this  and  all  other  favourable  dispensations 
of  Providence  to  any  of  the  human  family:  for  a 
holy  God  can  have  no  intercourse  with  sinners,  ex- 
cept through  a  Mediator,  duly  qualified  to  guard  the 
rights  of  the  divine  government,  while  he  saves  the 
guilty.  But  the  covenant  of  grace  was  formed  in  the 
councils  of  eternity,  between  the  Father  of  mercies 
and  his  beloved  Son,  as  the  surety  and  Saviour  of  his 
people.  It  was  in  operation  long  before  Abram  was 
born.  Its  benefits  had  been  applied  to  many  individ- 
uals, by  the  Holy  Spirit,  even  before  the  deluge. 
Abram  himself,  we  are  expressly  assured,  had  the 
righteousness  of  faith,  before  he  received  the  circum- 
cision which  is  in  the  flesh.  "  He  believed  in  the 
Lord,  and  it  was  counted  to  him  for  righteousness." 


108  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

He  was,  already,  in  a  state  of  grace,  a  renewed  and  a 
justified  man.  A  compliance  with  the  terms  of  tiiis 
external  compact,  therefore,  whatever  evidence  it 
might  afford  of  his  piety,  could  not  place  him  on  safer 
ground,  in  regard  to  the  salvation  of  his  soul,  than  he 
occupied  before  it  was  propounded  to  him.  What, 
then,  was  the  true  intent  of  the  covenant  of  circum- 
cision ?  What  relation  did  it  constitute  between  the 
parties,  that  did  not  exist  before?  If  it  was  not  a 
domestic  and  temporary  covenant,,  securing  to  the 
patriarch  a  numerous  natural  seed,  and  to  that  seed 
an  inheritance  in  Canaan — nor  yet  the  covenant  of 
grace,  securing  to  the  elect  eternal  life  and  blessed- 
ness, what  was  it?  We  answer,  it  was  an  exposi- 
tion and  solemn  ratification  of  that  remarkable  pro- 
mise given  to  x\bram,  when  he  was  called  out  of  Ur 
of  the  Chaldees:  "  In  thee  shall  all  the  families  of  the 
earth  be  blessed:"  "and  the  effect  of  it  was  to  bring 
him  and  his  family,  with  all  who  should  join  them,  by 
making  a  like  profession,  into  a  church  estate;  i.  e.  it 
was  an  ecclesiastical  covenant,  by  which  Jehovah  or- 
ganized the  visible  church,  as  one,  distinct,  spiritual 
society;  and,  according  to  which,  all  his  after  dealings 
with  her  were  to  be  regulated.  Hitherto  she  had 
been  scattered,  and  existed  in  detached  parts.  Now 
it  pleased  God  to  reduce  her  into  a  compact  form,  that 
she  m.ight  be  prepared  for  the  good  things  to  come. 
Since  Abram  was  designated  as  the  man  from  whom 
the  Messiah  was  to  spring;  since  he  had  signally  glo- 
rified the  Lord's  veracity,  not  staggering  at  his  pro- 
mise through  unbelief,  he  selected  this  his  servant, 
as  the  favoured  man  in  whose  family  he  would  com- 
plete the  organization  of  that  church  in  which  he  de- 
signed to  perpetuate  the  righteousness  of  faith.  With, 
this  church,  as  with  a  whole,  composed,  in  the  first 
instance,  of  Abraham's  family,  and  to  be  increased 
afterwards,  by  the  addition  of  all  such  as  should  own 
his  faith,  was  this  covenant  made."*  Such,  in  our 
apprehension,  is  its  true  purport.   It  is  the  sealed  bond 

*  See  Christian's  Magazine,  vol.  i.  p.  147,  148. 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  109 

of  union  between  the  Almighty  God,  and  that  great 
and  growing  community,  which  we  call  the  visible 
church,  and  which  is  composed  of  all  people,  with 
their  famihes,  who  profess  the  true  rehgion,  and  wor- 
ship the  true  God,  according  to  the  plan  revealed  in 
the  Bible,  the  statute  book  of  Jehovah's  kingdom. 

II.  The  provisions  and  promises  of  this  covenant 
are  ample,  and  of  the  most  momentous  import.  The 
Lord  proclaims  himself  to  vVbram,  as  the  Almighty 
God ;  the  shield  and  exceeding  great  reward  of  him 
and  his  seed;  and,  hereupon,  requires  them — f'irst, 
"  to  walk  before  him,  and  be  perfect :"  that  is,  to  act 
as  seeing  him,  their  all-sufficient  but  invisible  pro- 
tector; to  confide  in  his  power,  to  believe  his  word, 
to  obey  his  precepts,  to  celebrate  his  worship,  and 
keep  his  ordinances  pure  and  entire.  Secondly,  that 
they  keep  his  covenant  in  their  generations :  that  is, 
that  they  consider  its  great  end  and  design;  holiness 
of  heart  and  purity  of  manners ;  that  they  apply  the 
seal  at  the  time,  and  in  the  manner  prescribed,  to  the 
proper  subjects;  that  they  maintain  the  discipline  of 
his  house,  and  guard,  with  the  utmost  vigilance, 
against  the  neglect  or  profanation  of  any  of  the  insti- 
tutions of  his  grace.  And,  as  the  requirements  are 
strict,  so  the  promises  are  great  and  precious. 

First,  there  is  obviously  a  promise  of  protection 
couched  in  the  proclamation  already  noticed;  "I  am  the 
Almighty  God !''  United  by  covenant  to  the  Almighty, 
Abram  and  his  seed  have  nothing  to  fear.  "  The 
Lord's  portion  is  his  people :  Jacob  is  the  lot  of  his 
inheritance."  "  Blessed  are  the  people  whose  God  is 
the  Lord !" 

Secondly,  there  is  a  promise  of  large  accessions  to 
this  community  of  the  Lord's  people:  "  I  will  mul- 
tiply thee  exceedingly ;  and  I  will  make  thee  exceed- 
ing fruitful;  and  I  will  make  nations  of  thee,  and 
kings  shall  come  out  of  thee."  And  as  a  memorial 
and  confirmation  of  this  promise,  the  patriarch's  name 
is  changed  from  Abram  to  Abraham,  so  as,  instead 
of  high  father,  to  signify  high  father  of  many  na- 
tions. This  promise  cannot  relate  to  Abraham's 
10 


110  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

natural  seed,  because  the  benefits  of  this  covenant 
were  expressly  Hmited  to  his  descendants  in  the  hne 
of  Isaac:  and  from  Isaac  downward,  in  the  line  of 
Jacob;  Esau  having  profanely  bartered  away  his 
birth-right.  So  that,  by  this  limitation,  Abraham  was, 
Hterallv,  the  father  of  no  more  than  one  nation.  To 
the  Christian  dispensation  we  must,  unquestionably, 
look  for  the  fulfilmeiit  of  this  promise.  The  apostle 
Paul  has  expounded  and  applied  it :  "  If  yfe  be  Christ's, 
then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed  and  heirs  according  to 
the  pronnse."  It  is,  as  the  honoured  father  of  all 
Avho  believe  in  Christ,  that  Abraham  is  the  high 
father  of  many  nations. 

But,  thirdly,  the  most  comprehensive  and  extended 
promise  is  in  these  words:  "  I  will  establish  my  cove- 
nant between  me  and  thee,  and  thy  seed  after  thee,  in 
their  generations,  for  an  everlasting  covenant,  to  be  a 
God  unto  thee,  and  to  thy  seed  after  thee."  This 
promise  concerns  all  the  covenant  seed  of  Abraham; 
but  that  seed,  we  have  seen,  designates  all  who  pro- 
fess the  true  religion,  and  worship  the  true  God. 
Hence,  it  is  plain  that  the  people  of  God,  at  this  day, 
have  a  right  to  plead  this  promise  for  themselves  and 
their  children.  All  Christians  are  Abraham's  seed: 
let  them  lay  hold  of  this  covenant-promise:  let  them 
dedicate  their  little  ones  to  the  God  of  Abraham,  and 
commend  them  to  his  divine  care  and  influence.  Be 
it  your  constant  aim.  Christian  parents,  to  bring  up 
your  children  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord ;  "  The  promise  is  to  you  and  to  your  children.''^ 
And  if  the  Lord  be  your  God,  and  establish  his  cove- 
nant with  your  households  for  ever,  no  essential  evil 
can  befall  you;  all  things  shall  work  together  for 
your  good  ;  "  the  voice  of  rejoicing  is  in  the  tabernacle 
of  the  righteous." 

III.  The  seal  of  this  covenant,  in  its  original  form, 
was  the  rite  of  circumcision.  "  Tiiis  is  my  covenant 
which  ye  shall  keep  between  me  and  you,  and  thy 
seed  after  thee;  every  man-child  among  you  shall  be 
circumcised."  It  were  idle  for  us  to  inquire  why 
God  chose  this  strange  and  painful  observance,  as  the 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  Ill 

token  or  sign  of  his  covenant.  We  may  be  sure  it 
was  not  selected  without  good  reasons.  It  was  de- 
signed not  merely  to  distinguish  the  fi^mily  of  Abra- 
ham from  other  nations,  but  to  remind  them  of  their 
native  depravity,  and  of  the  necessity  of  self-denial, 
submission  to  God,  and  obedience  to  his  commands, 
however  irksome  these  tilings  might  be  to  their  fleshly 
and  corrupt  nature.  And,  as  an  ordinance  in  the 
church,  it  certified  to  the  seed  of  Abraham  that  the 
covenant  with  their  progenitor  was  in  force  ;  that  they 
were  under  it,  and  might  humbly  hope  to  partake  of 
the  benefits  which  it  secured.  And  the  apostle  Paul, 
in  the  fourth  chapter  of  his  epistle  to  the  Romans,  has 
taught  us  that  it  was  "a  seal  of  the  righteousness  of 
the  faith  which  Abraham  had,  being  yet  uncircum- 
cised,  that  he  might  be  the  father  of  all  them  that 
believe^  though  they  be  not  circumcised;  that  right- 
eousness might  be  imputed  unto  them  also." 

This  seal  was  to  be  applied  to  male-children,  with- 
out needless  delay, after  they  became  eight  days  old; 
but  not  before  that  age:  from  which  circumstance,  it 
appears  that  this  rite  was  not  considered  essential  to 
salvation,  else  it  would  not  have  been  permitted  to 
delay  it;  for  many  children  must  have  died  before 
they  attained  to  the  prescribed  age.  We  learn,  also, 
from  this  provision  respecting  the  application  of  the 
covenant-seal,  that  it  is  not  proper  to  postpone  the 
dedication  of  our  children  to  God,  in  baptism,  beyond 
the  first  favourable  opportunity,  which  Providence 
may  a  fiord  us. 

Circumcision  was  to  be  administered  to  servants, 
by  those  who  enjoyed  their  services,  and  had  charge 
of  their  religious  education  and  improvement.  "He 
that  is  born  in  thy  house,  and  he  that  is  bought  with 
thy  money,  must  needs  be  circumcised.'*  Alas!  how 
little  this  duty  of  taking  care  for  the  morals  and  reli- 
gious principles  of  servants,  is  regarded  by  many 
masters  and  employers  now-a-days  ! 

Finally,  this  covenant  was  guarded  by  a  sanction, 
or  penalty;  and  it  was  an  awfnl  and  solemn  one. 
•'And  the  uncircumcised  man-child,  whose  llesh  of  his 


112  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

foreskin  is  not  circumcised,  that  soul  shall  be  cut  otf 
from  his  people;  he  hath  broken  my  covenant."  The 
guilt  of  this  neglect,  undoubtedly,  rested  on  the  parent 
or  master,  not  on  the  child;  and  the  consequence 
was,  the  excommunication  of  both,  from  the  com- 
munion and  privileges  of  the  visible  church.  Let  it 
be  carefully  observed  here,  that  a  neglect  of  this  rite 
is  declared  to  be  a  violation  of  the  covenant.  God 
does  nothing  in  vain.  He  institutes  no  needless  ordi- 
nances; issues  no  superfluous  commands.  Let  no  one 
expect  to  go  unpunished,  who  contemns  his  wisdom, 
or  slights  his  grace,  by  neglecting  the  means  by  which 
it  is  ordinarily  communicated.  It  is  dangerous  to 
live  in  the  neglect  of  divine  institutions;  they  are 
happily  adapted  to  our  circumstances  and  wants. 
Respect  for  the  authority  of  God,  gratitude  for  his 
goodness,  and  a  suitable  regard  for  our  own  peace 
and  spiritual  edification  unite  in  urging  us  to  walk 
before  the  Lord  in  all  his  statutes  and  ordinances 
blameless.  *'  Ye  are  my  friends,"  says  Christ,  "if  ye 
do  whatsoever  I  command  you:" — "He  that  hath 
my  commandments,  and  keepeth  them,  he  it  is  that 
loveth  me;  and  he  that  loveth  me  shall  be  loved  of 
my  Father;  and  I  will  love  him,  and  will  manifest 
myself  to  him." 


LECTURE   XII. 

ABRAHAM'S  FAITH  TPaED  BY  THE  VIRTUAL  SACRIFICE  OF  ISAAC. 

And  it  came  to  pass  afler  these  things,  that  God  did  tempt  Arbaham, 
and  said  unto  him,  Abraham  :  And  he  said,  Behold,  here  I  am.  J^nd 
he  said,  Take  now  thy  son,  thine  only  son  Isaac,  whom  thou  lovest, 
and  get  thee  into  the  land  of  iMoriah;  and  offer  him  there  for  a 
burnt-offering  upon  one  of  the  mountains  which  I  will  tell  thee  of. 
— Gen.  xxii.  1,2. 

Faith,  which  is  essential  to  true  religion,  is  proved 
and  developed  by  trials.     The  trials  which  Abraham 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  113 

sustained,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  behaved  un- 
der them,  enable  us  to  understand,  in  some  measure, 
why  he  is  called,  by  way  of  eminence,  "the  friend  of 
God,  and  the  father  of  the  faithful. '^  He  was  distin- 
guished, pretty  uniformily,  by  an  unshaken  confidence 
in  the  divine  testimony,  and  an  unhesitating  submis- 
sion to  the  will  of  God.  His  faith  had  been  frequently 
put  to  the  test;  but  never  in  a  manner  so  severe  and 
extraordinary  as  in  the  instance  now  before  us.  Isaac 
was  a  child  of  prayer,  and  of  great  promise;  and  to 
part  with  him,  in  the  ordinary  way,  would  have  been 
a  heavy  affliction.  But  that  the  father  should  be  re- 
quired to  despatch  his  beloved  son  with  his  own  hand, 
was  a  trial  altogether  without  a  parallel.  Here  was 
a  case  in  which  the  divine  promises  and  command 
seemed  to  interfere,  and  to  be  utterly  inconsistent  with 
one  another;  yet  Abraham  was  promptly  obedient  to 
the  heavenly  mandate,  assured  that  God  would  main- 
tain his  truth,  and,  in  due  time,  display  the  wisdom 
and  equity  of  the  command. 

This,  however,  is  a  difficult  passage  of  Scripture. 
It  has  not  only  been  excepted  to  by  infidel  writers, 
but  many  pious  people  have  been  at  a  loss  to  know 
how  to  reconcile  it  to  the  benignity  of  the  Creator, 
and  the  rectitude  of  liis  government.  The  command 
is  so  repugnant  to  our  feelings,  and  appears,  at  first 
view,  to  be  of  so  bad  a  tendency,  that  one  is  tempted 
to  ask,  was  not  the  patriarch  under  a  mistake  in  be- 
lieving that  it  came  from  God?  may  it  not  have  been 
the  suggestion  of  some  malignant  spirit,  and  have 
been  intended  to  seduce  Abraham  into  the  perpetra- 
tion of  a  deed,  wiiich  would  bring  reproach  upon  him 
and  his  religion?  In  reply  to  this  objection,  which  is 
indeed  very  plausible,  we  would  remark,  that  it  im- 
peaches not  only  the  character  of  Abraham,  but  that 
of  Moses,  the  sacred  historian.  Snpposmg  the  pa- 
triarch to  have  been  deceived  in  this  matter,  how 
came  Moses  to  record  the  deception,  and  present  it 
to  us,  atid  to  all  the  world,  as  an  express  and  per- 
emptory injunction  of  Jehovah?  If  you  say  that 
Abraham  was  deceived,  you  give  up  the  authenticity 
10* 


114  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

of  the  Pentateuch,  and  adniit  that  the  writer  of  the 
first  five  books  in  the  Bible  was  not  only  an  uninspired 
man,  but  a  man  very  deficient  either  in  honesty  or 
discernment.  Nor  is  this  all;  the  author  of  the  epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  is  involved  in  tlie  same  condemna- 
tion :  for,  among  the  triumphs  of  faith  which  he 
mentions  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  his  letter,  this 
is  noticed  with  unqualified  approbation  :  ''  By  faith 
Abraham,  when  he  was  tried,  offered  up  Isaac;  and 
he  that  had  received  the  promises  off"ered  up  his  only 
begotten  Son."  That  Abraliam  was  fully  convinced 
that  the  command  was  from  God,  is  evident  from  the 
promptitude  with  which  he  proceeded  to  execute  it. 
If  it  be  asked,  how  he  could  know  assuredly  that  God 
required  this  sacrifice  at  his  hand,  we  answer,  by  an 
explicit  manifestation  of  the  divine  will,  such  as  im- 
pelled him,  first,  to  leave  "  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,"  and, 
afterwards,  to  go  forth  from  Haran  of  Mesopotamia. 
God  condescended,  on  several  occasions,  to  make  him- 
self known  to  him  in  a  Very  special  manner.  He  did 
this  in  various  modes;  as,  by  symbols  of  his  presence, 
by  an  audible  voice,  and  by  the  ministry  of  angels. 
He  had  entered  into  solenm  covenant  with  him,  as  the 
father  of  all  them  that  believe,  and  as  the  representa- 
tive of  the  visible  church.  And  Abraham,  as  an  evi- 
dence of  his  acquiescence  in  this  covenant,  submitted 
to  circumcision;  a  painful  rite — a  rite  which  a  sob^r 
man,  at  his  advanced  age,  cannot  be  supposed  to  have 
accepted  for  himself  and  his  numerous  family,  with- 
out a  full  and  deliberate  conviction  that  it  was  or- 
dained of  God  for  a  wise  and  holy  purpose.  And, 
after  all  this,  is  it  credible  that  the  "  high  father  of 
many  nations'^  would  be  left  to  follow  the  suggestion 
of  a  lying  and  malignant  spirit;  and  that  too,  in  a 
matter  of  so  much  moment  as  the  life  of  Isaac,  the 
heir  according  to  promise,  in  whom  the  holy  seed,  the 
church,  was  to  be  continued,  and  in  whose  family  the 
ordinances  of  religion  were  to  be  maintained  till  the 
coming  of  Messiah?  It  is  not  credible.  But,  not  to 
detain  you  longer  on  this  point,  the  result  proved  that 
Abraham  was  not  deceived.     Had  he  been  instigated 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  115 

by  Satan,  to  sacrifice  his  son,  the  deed  would  have 
been  accomplished;  for  they  who  so  far  yield  to  temp- 
tation, as  to  make  arrangements  to  comply  with  it, 
seldom  stop  short  of  the  ultimate  design  of  the  tempter. 
But  Isaac  was  not  actually  slain:  tlie  end  being  an- 
swered which  God  intended,  Abraham's  liand  is 
arrested  by  a  voice  from  heaven;  a  voice  not  of  re- 
proof, but  of  commendation:  "Lay  not  thine  hand 
upon  the  lad,  neither  do  thou  any  thing  unto  him." 
Why  ?  Not  because  thou  hast  been  deceived,  and 
art  following  the  instigations  of  the  devil ;  but,  because, 
"  now  I  know  that  thou  fearest  God,  seeing  thou  hast 
not  withheld  thy  son,  thine  only  son  from  me." 
Now,  if  Abraham  was  convinced  that  this  command 
proceeded  from  the  Lord,  it  was  clearly  his  duty  to 
obey  it,  however  grievous  it  might  bo  to  flesh  and 
blood.  The  known  ivill  of  the  Creator  is  and  ought 
to  be  law  to  the  intelligent  creature.  Faitli  does  not 
make  void  this  law;  genuine  faith  invariably  yields 
obedience  and  submission.  These  are  its  proper  ef- 
fects, and  where  these  are  wanting,  the  existence  of 
the  principle  is,  at  least,  questionable. 

But,  it  may  still  be  alleged  that,  though  God  is  to 
be  obeyed  in  all  cases,  and  in  some  instances  contrary 
to  those  tender  feelings  which  are  connatural  to  us, 
yet,  as  he  always  acts  according  to  the  eternal  rules 
of  reason,  he  can  neither  act  himself,  nor  require  his 
creatures  to  act  in  a  manner  contradictory  to  those 
rules.  "And  as  the  slaying  of  a  child  is  an  obvious 
violation  of  the  law  of  nature,  which  obliges  a  parent 
to  cherish  and  protect  his  offspring,  would  it  not  be 
impugning  the  character  of  the  divine  Being,  to  sup- 
pose that  he  ever  issued  such  a  command  as  tliat  now 
in  question  ?"  This  is  placing  the  difficulty  in  a  strong 
point  of  light:  let  us  see  whether  it  be  not  capable  of 
a  rational  and  satisfactory  solution. 

That  God  acts,  uniformily,  on  principles  of  the  most 
perfect  rectitude  is  indubitable;  that  he  can  neither 
do.,  nor  command  others  to  do  a  WTong  thing,  is  also 
indubitable.  But  then  it  should  be  recollected  that 
the  rules  which  regulate  his  conduct  have  a  bearing 


116  LECTURES    OX    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

on  the  whole  universe,  and  are  deduced  from  the  in- 
finite relations  which  his  works  and  designs  have  to 
one  another,  and  to  the  ultimate  good  of  iiis  kingdom, 
considered  as  one  immense  and  entire  whole.  Now 
we  cannot  comprehend  these  vast  relations  of  things, 
and,  therefore,  we  cannot  determine,  in  any  given  case, 
what  Avould  be  right,  or  what  would  be  wrong  in  the 
divine  government,  because  that  is  conducted  on  prin- 
ciples of  which  we  can  form  no  adequate  conception. 
"As  the  heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth,  so  are  my 
ways  higher  than  your  ways,  and  my  thoughts  than 
your  thoughts,  saii'h  the  Lord." 

Even  on  the  supposition  that  God  had  intended 
that  Abraham  should  take  away  his  son's  Hfe,  there 
would  have  been  no  injustice  in  the  command.  The 
Author  and  Giver  of  life  has  a  right  to  resume  it,  at 
what  time,  and  by  whatever  means  he  sees  fit.  So 
that  had  the  injunction  been  actually  executed,  we 
must  have  acknowledged  it  to  have  been  wise,  just, 
and  good;  because  a  divine  command  necessarily  im- 
plies wisdom,  justice,  and  goodness,  though  we  may 
be  imable  to  discern  the  reasons  upon  which  it  is 
founded.  But  did  not  this  intentional  sacrifice  of 
Isaac  give  countenance  to  the  practice,  which  is 
known  to  have  obtaiiied  among  some  pagan  nations, 
of  offering  human  victims  to  propitiate  their  gods? 
Had  the  sacrifice  been  actually  made  there  would 
have  been  some  force  in  this  objection;  but  as  the 
fatal  blow  was  arrested  by  the  same  divine  authority 
that  ordered  it  to  be  inflicted,  the  effect  of  the  whole 
affair,  as  narrated  by  Moses,  would,  in  our  view,  be 
to  discountenance  the  practice  to  which  the  objection 
refers:  Isaac  is  spared,  and  a  ram  of  the  Lord's  own 
providing  is  offered  in  his  stead.  And  this,  most  ob- 
viously and  impressively,  intimated  that  the  God  of 
Abraham  delighted  not  in  human  blood  ;  that  he  ap- 
proved of  inferior  victims,  and  designed  that  these 
should  serve  as  types  and  shadows  till  the  fulness  of 
time,  when  the  true  Lamb  of  God  should  appear  in 
the  flesh,  and  shed  his  blood  as  the  great  and  inesti- 
mable sacrifice  which  cleanseth  from  all  sin. 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  117 

As  Isaac  must  have  attained  nearly,  if  not  quite,  to 
the  age  of  manhood  when  this  transaction  took  place, 
it  is  naturally  asked  why  he  made  no  resistance,  but 
quietly  submitted  to  be  bound  and  laid  on  the  altar? 
The  only  way  in  which  we  can  account  for  this  is,  by 
supposing  that  he  was  an  eminently  pious  youth;  that 
he  was  satisfactorily  informed  that  God  required  him 
to  submit,  and  that  he  was  endued  with  the  devoted 
heroism  of  the  martyrs;  many  of  whom,  even'  under 
the  Jewish  economy,  as  a  testimony  of  their  love  of 
truth  and  duty,  "were  stoned,  sawn  asunder,  and  tor- 
tured; not  accepting  deliverance,  that  they  might  in- 
herit a  joyful  resurrection."  Josephus,  the  Jewish  his- 
torian, taking  his  materials  from  the  glosses  of  the  rab- 
bis, tells  us,  that  Abraham  made  a  pathetic  speech  to  his 
son,  on  the  occasion,  exhorting  him  to  constancy  and 
submission  to  the  decree  of  heaven;  to  which  Isaac 
attended,  says  he,  with  a  composure  and  resignation 
worthy  the  son  of  such  a  father.  And  upon  this 
account  of  their  mutual  behaviour,  (whether  true 
or  fictitious,  we  pretend  not  to  determine,)  Gregory 
Nazyanzen,  an  eloquent  father  of  the  Greek  church, 
makes  the  following  impressive  remark:  "All  the 
strength  of  reluctant  love  could  not  withhold  the 
father's  hand;  and  all  the  terror  of  a  violent  disso- 
lution could  not  tempt  tlie  son  to  move  for  his  own 
preservation.  Which  of  the  two,  shall  we  say,  de- 
serves the  precedence  in  our  wonder  and  veneration? 
For  there  seems  to  have  been  a  religious  emulation 
or  contest  between  them,  which  should  most  remark- 
ably signalize  himself;  the  father  in  loving  God  more 
than  his  own  child,  and  the  son  in  the  love  of  duty 
above  his  own  life." 

Whatever  of  truth  may  be  in  these  representations, 
both  father  and  son  seem  to  have  acted  under  a 
strong  sense  of  duty,  with  a  reverential  regard  to  the 
aiithorily,  and  a  single  eye  to  the  glory  of  Jehovah. 
That  Abraham  expected  his  beloved  Isaac  would,  be 
restored  to  life,  after  he  should  have  sacrificed  him  in 
obedience  to  the  divine  command,  seems  highly  pro- 
bable; not  only  from  his  remark  to  the  young  men 


lis  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

that  accompanied  them  to  the  foot  of  the  mountain, 
"abide  ye  here  witli  the  ass,  and  I  and  the  lad  will 
go  yonder  and  worship,  and  come  again  to  you,"  but 
from  an  observation  of  Paul,  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  xi.  19,  "accounting  that  God  was  able  to 
raise  him  up, even  from  the  dead;  from  whence,  also, 
he  received  him  in  a  figure."  And  this  hope  would 
be  not  a  little  consolatory  to  them  both  in  yielding  a 
compliance  with  the  painful  duty  to  which  they  were 
now  called,  the  one  actively,  and  the  other  passively. 

Having  thus  endeavoured  to  remove  the  principal 
objections,  to  which,  at  first  view,  this  passage  of 
sacred  writ  seems  hable,  let  us  try  to  ascertain  the 
end,  or  useful  purpose,  which  was  designed  to  be 
answered  by  the  wonderful  transaction  therein  re- 
corded. 

The  end  to  be  answered,  we  suppose,  was  two- 
fold: First,  to  afford  to  the  church,  and  to  all  who 
should  read  the  sacred  story,  an  illustrious  exempli- 
fication of  the  nature  and  energy  of  a  true  faith 
in  God;  secondly,  to  furnish,  in  the  virtual  sacrifice 
of  Isaac,  a  type,  or  symbolical  adumbration  of  our 
blessed  Lord's  voluntary  sufferings  and  death. 

In  the  first  place,  this  conmiand  w^as  designed  to 
prove  Abraham's  faith,  and  to  afford  an  exemplifica- 
tion of  the  amazing  power  of  that  divine  principle. 
"God,"  it  is  said,  "did  tempt  Abraham."  To  tempt, 
is  a  phrase  used  in  Scripture  in  two  senses;  its  most 
common  meaning  is,  to  suggest  evil  thoughts,  or  in- 
stigate to  wicked  actions.  In  this  sense,  it  is  never 
applied  to  the  divine  Being.  "Let  no  man  say,  when 
he  is  tempted,  I  am  tempted  of  God;  for  God  cannot 
be  tempted  with  evil,  neither  tenipteth  he  any  man." 
James  i.  13.  The  other  acceptation,  in  which  the 
phrase  is  used,  is  to  prove,  or  try  a  person  or  thing 
by  experiment.  In  this  sense  it  is  frequently  applied 
to  God,  in  his  conduct  towards  mankind.  And  thus, 
\\Q  Jenipted,  proved,  or  tried  Abraham;  not  for  his 
own  satisfaction,  for  he  knew  what  was  in  his  heart, 
and  how  he  would  acquit  himself  in  this  trying  junc- 
ture ;  but  to  make  his  example  the  more  useful,  "that 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORr.  119 

the  trial  of  his  faith,  being  much  more  precious  than 
of  gold,  that  pcrisheth,  might  be  found,  or  noticed, 
unto  praise,  and  honour,  and  glory:"  that  all  future 
generations,  reading  the  history  of  liis  faith  and  obe- 
dience^ might  glorify  God  in  liim,  and  look  on  his  ex- 
ample as  a  shining  light,  placed  by  the  hand  of  Pro- 
vidence, in  the  firmament  of  the  church,  to  guide  and 
animate  other  believers,  in  the  intricate  and  arduous 
paths  of  duty  through  which  they  may  be  called  to 
pass.  As  God  chose  to  honour  Abraham,  by  giving 
him  the  title  of  the  father  of  the  faithful,  it  was  proper 
that  the  genuineness  of  his  faith  should  be  thoroughly 
tried ;  and  it  was  tried  in  a  way  which  proved  it  to 
be  a  divine  principle.  "Take  now  thy  son,  thine  only 
son  Isaac,  whom  thou  lovest,  and  get  thee  into  the 
land  of  Moriah,  and  offer  him  there  lor  a  burnt  offer- 
ing, on  one  of  the  mountains  which  I  will  tell  thee 
of."  It  is  scarcely  possible  to  conceive  of  a  more  try- 
ing case.  The  ligaments  that  bind  the  child  to  the 
parent's  heart,  are  inexpressibly  tender  and  endear- 
ing. We  find  it  no  small  trial  to  part  with  one  of 
our  children,  even  by  an  ordinary  sickness  and  death; 
if  it  be  an  only  child  we  are  apt  to  be  utterly  over- 
whelmed and  inconsolable;  the  affliction  whitens  the 
father's  head,  and  opens  the  fountain  of  the  mother's 
tears.  But  in  the  case  of  Abraham  it  was  an  only 
son;  a  son  of  religious  desire;  a  son  given  in  an  ex- 
traordinary way,  and  in  consequence  of  divine  pro- 
mise. Nor  was  this  all;  he  was  a  son  with  whose 
hfe  and  offspring  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the 
visible  church  were,  by  God's  own  covenant,  inti- 
mately connected.  The  patriarch  might  have  de- 
murred against  the  command,  saying,  not  so,  Lord, 
for  then  what  shall  become  of  thy  promise?  How 
will  he  be  a  father  of  many  nations,  when  he  is  cut 
off  from  life  ?  Especially  might  he  have  declined  the 
office  of  priest,  when  it  had  been  determined  that  his 
beloved  Isaac  was  to  be  the  victim.  But  no,  lie  was 
obedient,  not  staggering  at  the  command  through  un- 
belief. Nor  is  the  pamful  service  to  be  performed 
instantly;  the  mountain  lies  at  the  distance  of  some 


120  LECTURES    OX    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

two  or  three  days'  journey.  Here  was  time  for  de- 
liberation; the  awful  scene  was  continually  in  his 
mind's  eye  from  the  announcement  of  the  decree  till 
the  third  day,  when  the  destined  mount  showed  its 
summit  above  the  line  of  the  horizon.  Still  the  faith- 
ful patriarch  proceeds,  submissive.  At  the  foot  of 
Moriah,  the  servants  are  ordered  to  remain  till  this 
mysterious  act  of  worship  is  performed.  The  altar 
is  prepared,  the  wood  is  laid  in  order;  and  now 
a  dialogue  ensues  between  the  father  and  the  son, 
v^rhich,  for  natural  simplicity  and  affectionate  tender- 
ness, stands  2^/zr/f«//e^/ and  r//o??e.  ^^  My  father!  here 
am  I  my  son;  behold  the  fire  and  the  wood!  but 
where  is  the  lamb  for  a  burnt-oftering?  My  son,  God 
will  provide  himself  a  lamb  for  a  burnt-offering!" 
What  mutual  kindness!  What  meekness!  What  loy- 
alty to  the  king  of  heaven  and  earth !  But  we  for- 
bear to  darken  counsel,  by  words  without  knowledge. 
Any  attempt  to  give  an  adequate  description  of  this 
interview,  would  be  like  an  idle  effort  to  give  fra- 
grance to  the  rose,  or  colouring  to  the  rainbow. 

God  did  provide  himself  a  lamb;  it  is  offered;  Isaac 
is  restored,  in  a  figure,  to  the  enraptured  father.  The 
hand  of  the  Lord  is  acknowledged,  and,  as  a  memo- 
rial of  this  marvellous  interposition,  the  mountain  is 
called  Jehovah-Jireh ;  i.  e.  "  In  the  mount  of  the  liOrd 
it  shall  be  seen."  Walk,  believers,  in  the  steps  of 
faithful  Abraham,  and  you  will  find  that  the  Lord  will 
provide  for  you,  and  make  all  his  providences  har- 
monize with  his  promises.  "  Then  shall  ye  know  the 
design  of  the  mysterious  Avays  and  dispensations  of 
divine  providence,  if  ye  follow  on  to  know  the  Lord." 
See  to  it  that  ye  possess  the  faith  of  God's  elect;  so 
"shall  your  light  afflictions,  which  are  but  for  a  mo- 
ment, work  out  for  you  a  far  more  exceeding  and 
eternal  weight  of  glory." 

Finally,  from  the  typical  action,  which  we  have 
been  contemplating,  let  us  turn  our  thoughts,  with 
devout  admiration  and  adoring  thankfulness,  to  that 
Great  Sacrifice  through  which  we  have  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins,  and  the  hope  of  life  everlasting.     Christ, 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  121 

the  only  begotten  Son  of  the  Most  High,  died  volun- 
tarily, "  the  just  for  the  luijust,  that  he  miglit  bring 
us  to  God  :"  and  now  a  voice  from  the  excellent  glory 
is  heard,  saying,  "deliver  from  going  down  to  the  pit; 
I  have  found  a  ransom."  Let  us  beheve  the  infallible 
Oracle,  and  we  shall  realize  the  blessedness  of  iiim 
whose  God  is  the  Lord.  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God 
which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world  !'' 


LECTURE  XIII 


incidents    in    the    life    of    ISAAC. 

And  it  came  to  pass,  after  the  death  of  Abraham,  that  God  blessed  his 
son  Isaac;  and  Isaac  dwelt  by  tiie  well  Lahai-roi. — Gen.  xxv.  11. 

It  will  be  recollected,  that  we  have  already  expended 
three  lectures  on  the  three  most  important  events  in 
the  life  of  Abraham;  i.  e.  his  vocation  first  from  Ur, 
and  afterwards  from  Haran;  the  covenant  of  circum- 
cision which  God  formed  with  him  in  relation  to  the 
promised  seed;  and  the  trial  of  his  faith,  in  the  inten- 
tional sacrifice  of  his  beloved  Isaac,  who,  as  the  heir 
and  successor  of  his  father,  will  be  the  principal  sub- 
ject of  the  ensuing  lecture. 

But  here  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  notice  briefly,  two 
or  tliree  occurrences,  that  took  place  towards  the  close 
of  Abraham's  mortal  pilgrimage,  which,  while  they 
tend  still  further  to  develope  his  amiable  character, 
cannot  fail  to  suggest  some  useful  reflections. 

Not  long  after  the  memorable  transaction  on  mount 
Moriah,  Abraham  appears  to  have  left  Beersheba, 
and  pitched  his  tent  in  Hebron,  a  town  in  the  land  of 
the  Hittites,  the  descendants  of  Heth.  Here  he  was 
visited  by  a  sore  affliction:  Sarah,  the  wife  of  his 
youth  and  the  mother  of  his  Isaac,  was  taken  sick 
11 


122  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORT. 

and  died,  at  the  advanced  age  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  years.  How  did  the  patriarch  behave 
on  the  occasion?  Like  a  tender  husband  he  mourned 
and  wept  for  her.  He  knew,  and  doubtless  acknow- 
ledged, that  this  was  the  Lord's  doing;  yet  he  mourn- 
ed and  wept.  The  strength  of  his  faith  did  not  dimin- 
ish his  natural  affection;  nor  are  we  forbidden  to  feel 
under  our  bereavements.  We  may  pay  the  tribute 
of  a  tear  to  the  memory  of  a  departed  friend,  provided 
we  neither  murmur  nor  sorrow  as  they  that  have  no 
hope.  Abraham's  grief  was  not  so  great,  or  so  long 
indulged,  as  to  disqualify  him  for  the  sacred  duty  of 
*'  burying  his  dead  out  of  his  sight."  Our  sympathies 
are  excited  to  see  the  venerable  man,  in  a  land  of 
strangers,  destitute  of  a  spot  of  ground  in  which  to 
deposit  the  remains  of  his  deceased  wife.  The  people 
of  the  land  were,  indeed,  hospitable  and  generous  : 
*' In  the  choice  of  our  sepulchres,"  say  they,  "bury 
thy  dead."  This  friendly  offer  was  courteously  de- 
clined; the  right  of  burial  was,  in  his  estimation,  a 
matter  of  too  much  moment  for  him  to  accept  as  a 
gift,  while  he  had  the  means  of  procuring  it  by  a  fair 
and  honourable  purchase.  Accordingly,  after  a  ne- 
gotiation of  some  length,  conducted  by  both  parties 
on  liberal  principles,  and  agreeably  to  the  simple  usage 
of  the  times,  "the  field  of  Ephron,  including  the  cave 
of  Machpelah,  was  made  sure  unto  Abraham,  for  a 
possession  of  a  burying-place  by  the  sons  of  Heth." 
There  the  body  of  Sarah  was  laid  to  rest,  "dust  to 
dust,  and  ashes  to  ashes."  And  there  it  was,  that 
Abraham  began  to  receive  the  fulfilment  of  the  pro- 
mise— "  I  will  give  unto  thee,  and  to  thy  seed  after 
thee,  the  land  of  Canaan,  for  an  everlasting  pos- 
session." 

Another  thing,  worthy  of  notice,  in  the  conduct  of 
Abraham  is,  the  pains  which  he  took  in  regard  to  the 
marriage  of  his  son.  Isaac  must  have  been  now  about 
forty  years  of  age.  And  as  he  had  been  selected  as 
one  of  the  progenitors  of  the  Messiah,  and  as  he  was 
to  have  the  chief  management  in  religious  concerns 
during   his   life-time,  it  was  of  importance  that  his 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  123 

matrimonial  connexion  should  comport  with  tlie  end 
of  his  high  vocation.  The  management  of  this  mat- 
ter was  committed  to  Ehezer,  the  eldest  servant  or  the 
steward  of  Abraham's  house,  under  the  solemnity  of 
an  oath.  He  was  charged  not  to  take  a  wife  for  Isaac 
from  among  the  daughters  of  the  Canaanites;  but  to 
go  and  seek  one  among  the  remote  kindred  of  the 
family.  The  design  evidently  was,  not  to  look  for 
wealiii  and  other  fashionable  accom]-)lishments,  but  to 
procure  a  companion  suitable  for  a  pious  man,  and  to 
guard  against  an  alliance  with  idolatry  and  other 
forms  of  immorality  and  wickedness.  Eliezer  accepts 
the  charge — proceeds  to  Mesopotamia,  to  the  city  of 
Nahor,  where,  after  referring  the  matter  seriously  to 
the  disposal  of  Providence,  his  mission  is  speedily 
crowned  with  success.  Rebekah,  the  daughter  of 
Bethuel,  and  grand-daughter  of  Nahor,  Abraham's 
brother,  is  obtained  by  consent  of  the  family.  We 
forbear  any  remarks  on  the  manner  in  which  this  ne- 
gotiation was  conducted.  It  is  narrated  by  Moses  iu 
a  style  of  inimitable  delicacy,  precision,  and  simplicity. 
No  person  of  taste  and  discernment  can  read  the 
twenty-fourth  chapter  of  Genesis,  without  being  for- 
cibly impressed  with  the  piety  and  fidelity  of  Eliezer, 
in  executing  his  trust;  as,  also,  with  the  hospitality 
and  mutual  kindness  of  Rebekah  and  her  kindred, 
while  they  submitted,  quietly,  to  a  separation  which 
must  have  been  exceedingly  grievous,  had  it  not  been 
evident,  that  "the  thing  proceeded  from  the  Lord." 

We  are,  incidentally,  made  acquainted  with  Isaac's 
contemplative  and  devotional  turn  of  mind.  When 
the  servant  and  Rebekah  arrived  at  the  well  Lahai- 
roi,  the  place  of  Isaac's  residence,  they  find  him  m.edi- 
tating  in  the  field,  at  even-tide,  a  season  highly  fa- 
vourable to  retirement  and  religious  thoughtfulness. 
Such  a  retreat  from  the  noise  and  cares  of  the  world, 
at  the  close  of  every  day,  would  conduce  not  a  little 
to  his  peace  of  mind  and  growth  in  grace.  And, 
sutler  me,  readers,  to  reconmiend  some  such  practice 
to  you.  It  is  as  useful  now,  as  it  was  in  the  pa- 
triarchal age.     Secret  devotion  tends  to  prepare  us  for 


124  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

public  duty;  it  cherishes  the  pious  affections — fortifies 
our  minds  against  temptation,  by  cultivating  a  sense 
of  dependance  on  divine  aid — and  by  habituating  us 
to  Uve  and  act  as  seeing  him  who  is  invisible:  and 
though  we  may  not  have  a  field  to  meditate  in,  yet 
we  may  all  have  a  closet,  and  we  know  who  has 
given  this  explicit  direction,  "  When  thou  prayest, 
enter  into  thy  closet;  and  when  thou  hast  shut  thy 
door,  pray  to  thy  Father  who  is  in  secret,  and  thy 
Father  who  seeth  in  secret,  will  reward  thee  openly." 
Matt.  vi.  6.  But  to  return: — Isaac  approved  of  what 
the  servant  had  done ;  and,  convinced  that  the  whole 
affair  had  been  ordered  by  a  wise  and  holy  Provi- 
dence, he  received  Rebekah,  no  doubt  with  suitable 
marks  of  kindness  and  respect,  conducted  her  to  his 
mother's  tent,  and  "  she  became  his  wife,  and  he 
loved  her.'' 

Parents  may  learn  from  this  piece  of  sacred  history, 
how  to  advise  their  children  on  the  subject  of  mar- 
riage. And  let  youth  listen  with  filial  reverence,  to 
the  counsels  of  experience  and  parental  affection. 
And  you  will  allow  me  to  say,  without  any  disparage- 
ment to  those  external  accomplishments  which  are 
well  enough  in  their  place,  that,  in  choosing  an  every 
day  companion,  a  partner  for  life,  a  friend  for  adver- 
sity as  well  as  prosperity,  of  all  requisites,  piety  and 
correct  morals,  good  sense,  and  habits  of  industry, 
are  fairly  entitled  to  the  preference. 

Some  time  after  the  death  of  Sarah,  Abraham  mar- 
ried a  second  wife,  whose  name  was  Keturah,  by 
whom  he  had  six  sons.  To  these  sons,  when  grown 
up,  we  are  told  he  gave  gifts  or  portions,  and  sent 
them  away  from  Isaac  his  son,  eastward  unto  the  east 
country.  This  measure  seems  to  have  been  taken 
with  a  view  to  prevent  family  dissension.  The  des- 
cendants of  these  sons  of  Keturah,  together  with  the 
posterity  of  Esau,  are  mentioned,  in  history,  by  the 
name  of  Edomites  or  Idumeans. 

But  we  have  now  reached  the  concluding  para- 
graph in  the  long  narrative  of  this  good  man's  diver- 
sified and  interesting  pilgrimage:  "And  these  are  the 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  125 

days  of  the  years  of  Abraham's  Hfe,  which  he  Hved, 
an  hundred  threescore  and  fifteen  years.  Tfien  Abra- 
ham gave  up  the  gliost  (i.  e.  resigned  his  spirit  into  the 
hand  of  the  Creator,)  and  died  in  a  good  old  age,  an 
old  man,  and  lull  of  years;  and  was  gathered  to  his 
people.  And  Iiis  sons  Isaac  and  Ishmael  buried  him 
in  tiie  cave  of  JNIachpelali,  in  tlie  field  of  Ephron — 
which  is  before  Mamre;  the  field  which  Abraliam 
purchased  of  the  sons  of  Heth:  there  was  Abraham 
buried,  and  Sarah  liis  wife.'^  *' Blessed  are  the  dead, 
who  die  in  the  Lord!  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  for 
they  rest  from  their  labours,  and  their  works  do  fol- 
low them!"  Long  after  the  patriarch's  decease,  Je- 
liovah  proclaims  himself  the  God  of  Abraham;  and  in 
the  parable  of  Dives  and  Lazarus,  our  Saviour  makes 
Abraham's  bosom  the  symbol  of  lieaven.  JNTay  you 
and  I,  readers,  be  found  at  last  among  the  ^'  Many 
that  shall  come  from  the  east  and  west,  and  shall  sit 
down  with  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven.''  Matt.  viii.  IL 

^' And  it  came  to  pass,  after  the  death  of  Abraham, 
that  God  blessed  his  son  Isaac."  On  reviewing  the 
history  of  the  early  ages,  we  are  pleased  to  find, 
amidst  the  wide-spreading  desolations  of  sin,  the  noise- 
less but  powerful  operation  of  redeeming  grace.  The 
Lord  has  always  had  a  people  for  his  praise  in  our 
apostate  world ;  and,  in  the  darkest  and  most  degene- 
rate times,  he  has  exercised  over  tiiat  people  a  very 
special  care.  This  observation  is  happily  illustrated, 
in  that  portion  of  the  sacred  story  which  is  connected 
with  the  life  of  Isaac.  In  the  preservation  of  the  seed 
from  which  the  Saviour  was  to  spring,  we  see  the 
hand  of  God  often  and  signally  displayed.  May  we 
learn  to  adore  and  trust  the  God  of  Israel,  who  only 
doeth  wondrous  things!  His  word  endurcth  for  ever, 
and  his  faithfulness  unto  all  generations!  Abraham, 
the  high  father  of  many  nations,  cannot  continue,  by 
reason  of  death ;  but  Isaac  is  raised  up  in  his  stead. 
And  as  it  had  been  with  the  father,  so  it  proved  with 
the  son;  God  blessed  him,  even  as  he  had  blessed  the 
father — not  only  with  a  large  increase  of  worldly  subv 
11* 


126  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

Stance,  but  with  abundant  communications  of  grace, 
and  with  promises  and  revelations  reaching  in  their 
design  and  import  to  the  end  of  the  world,  even  to 
the  ages  of  eternitjr. 

As  Isaac  appears  to  have  been  of  a  retiring  dispo- 
sition, so  the  history  of  his  life  is  marked  with  but  few 
striking  events;  and  our  notices  of  those  few  must  be 
short  and  general. 

He  was  encouraged  by  divine  promise  to  expect  a 
numerous  offspring.  But  his  faith  and  patience  were 
tried,  on  this  point,  for  about  twenty  years.  Nor  let 
it  be  thought  that  this  was  a  small  trial.  To  a  man, 
in  his  circumstances,  a  desire  to  have  children,  was  a 
religious  affection ;  for  had  he  died  without  issue,  the 
promise  had  failed,  the  covenant  had  been  broken. 
He,  therefore,  entreated  the  Lord,  once  and  again; 
and  at  length,  as  if  to  enhance  the  value  of  the  gift,  it 
is  granted,  in  answer  to  much  prayer.  Two  sons  were 
born  to  him  at  one  time,  which,  though  an  immediate 
occasion  of  joy  and  thankfulness,  proved  afterwards 
a  source  of  trouble.  Concerning  these  two  sons,  it 
had  been  announced,  before  their  birth,  that  they  were 
to  be  the  heads  of  two  nations  of  different  characters; 
that  the  one  people  should  be  stronger  than  the  other 
people,  and  that  the  elder  should  serve  the  younger. 
In  allusion  to  some  extraordinary  occurrences  which 
happened  on  that  occasion,  the  elder  was  named 
Esau,  which  signifies  red,  and  the  younger,  Jacob, 
or  the  supplanter.  As  these  youths  grew  up,  they 
chose  different  occupations.  ^'  Esau  was  a  cunning 
hunter,  a  man  of  the  field;  and  Jacob  was  a  plain 
man,  dwelling  in  tents.''  Each  parent  had  a  favour- 
ite. Isaac  loved  Esau,  for  a  reason  not  very  credita- 
ble, "because  he  did  eat  of  his  venison;"  but  Rebekah 
loved  Jacob,  we  are  not  informed  why,  but,  probably, 
because  he  was  of  a  domestic  turn,  and  gave  her 
more  of  his  company.  But  this  favouritism  is  a  bad 
thing  in  families;  it  produced  mischief  in  this  case; 
and  it  cannot  fail  to  engender  strife,  jealousy,  and 
envy,  wherever  it  is  indulged  to  any  considerable  de- 
gree.    Parental  affection  should  be  like  the  wisdom 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  127 

that  is  from  above,  "  without  partiality."  That  these 
two  brothers  did  not  feel  towards  one  another  as  they 
ought  to  have  done,  is  obvious ;  and  that  the  blame 
of  this,  was  partly  attributable  to  the  parents,  is  very 
probable.  In  that  strange  affair,  the  transfer  of  the 
birth-right,  one  scarcely  knows  which  of  the  two  is 
most  censurable;  Esau,  for  his  profaneness,  or  Jacob, 
for  his  insidious  craft  and  want  of  brotherly  kindness; 
the  divine  purpose  furnishes  no  excuse  for  either. 
God  never  required  any  of  his  creatures  to  do  a 
wrong  thing  to  accomplish  his  decrees.  But  why  is 
Esau  pronounced  profane,  for  bartering  away  his 
birth-right?  Because  the  first-born  was  sacred  to  the 
Lord;  and  because  it  was  his  privilege  to  officiate  as 
priest  of  the  family,  and  have  the  chief  government 
in  matters  ecclesiastical;  he  had  a  right  to  the  par- 
ticular blessing  of  his  dying  father,  that  he  might 
transmit  to  the  next  generation  the  promise  of  a  Re- 
deemer, and  all  the  blessings  of  the  covenant  made 
with  Abraham;  so  that,  in  giving  up  the  rights  of 
primogeniture,  he  proved  himself  a  despiser  of  reli- 
gion; a  contemner  of  God,  and  things  divine.  '^  Thus 
Esau  despised  his  birth-right,"  and  for  so  doing,  the 
apostle,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  has  called  him 
a  profane  person,  and  has  grounded  upon  Esau's  bad 
conduct  an  exhortation,  which  evidently  supposes 
that  persons,  under  the  gospel  dispensation,  may  be 
guilty  in  a  similar  way.  But  how?  What  birth- 
right have  we,  which  any  of  us  would  be  so  foolish 
as  to  despise?  I  will  tell  you,  readers:  many  of  you 
are  the  children  of  pious  parents — of  parents  who 
professed  to  worship  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob;  you  were  born  in  the  visible  church,  and  ac- 
cordingly had  the  seal  of  God's  covenant  with  his 
people  affixed  upon  you  in  your  infancy;  it  is,  there- 
fore, your  birth-right  to  belong  to  that  people  whose 
God  is  the  Lord.  You  drew  your  first  l3reath  within 
the  sacred  pale  of  the  visible  household  of  faith,  and 
it  is  your  duty  to  do  the  will,  and  keep  the  ordinances 
of  God  your  Saviour.  Have  you  all  done  so?  Are 
you  doing  so  now?     How  many  baptized  youth  are 


128  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

growing  up  in  a  state  of  unblushing  conformity  to 
the  world  ?  Yea.  more ;  liow  many  have  become 
parents  themselves,  who  have  never  felt  or  acknow- 
ledged their  obligations  to  Christ  by  commemorating 
his  death?  How  many  are  letting  their  children 
grow  up  unbaptized;  and,  therefore,  without  any  vis- 
ible connexion  with  the  church  of  God  ?  Is  not  this 
to  despise  our  birth-right?  1  know  there  are  those 
who  are  deterred  from  an  open  avowal  of  their  faith 
and  hope  in  '  the  Redeemer,  by  scruples  respecting 
their  experimental  acquaintance  with  true  religion. 
To  such,  we  would  say;  "Then  shall  ye  know  if  you 
follow  on  to  know  the  Lord."  But  there  are  some 
who  seem  to  have  little  or  no  concern  about  their  re- 
lations to  God,  to  his  church,  or  to  eternity.  If  they 
were  baptized  in  infancy,  it  is  well;  if  not,  it  is  of  no 
great  consequence;  they  eat,  and  drink,  and  play — 
forget  the  Rock  that  begat  them,  and  the  Lord  that 
bought  them;  they  expend  their  labour  and  thoughts 
for  that  which  satisfieth  not,  while  the  meat  that  en- 
dureth  unto  everlasting  life  is  utterly  neglected.  An- 
gels may  desire  to  look  into  the  mysteries  of  redeem- 
ing mercy,  but  the  wicked  care  for  none  of  these 
things.  "  0  ye  sons  of  men,  how  long  will  ye  love 
vanity,  and  seek  after  leasing!"  Turn  ye,  for  why 
will  ye  die!  Seek  the  Lord  while  he  may  be  found, 
call  upon  him  while  he  is  near.  Why  should  you 
barter  away  heaven  for  a  morsel  of  meat?  As  you 
would  not  join  Esau  in  his  sin  and  misery,  or  be 
numbered  with  the  profane  in  the  day  of  judgment, 
cleave  to  the  God  of  Isaac;  believe  in  Christ,  and 
keep  his  precepts.  God  blessed  Isaac,  as  he  had 
blessed  Abraham;  so,  if  you  choose  the  fear  of  the 
Lord,  he  will  bless  yon,  and  keep  you  by  his  mighty 
power  through  foith  unto  salvation:  "  If  thou  seek 
him,"  as  says  David  to  his  son  Solomon,  "he  will  be 
found  of  thee;  but  if  thou  forsake  him,  he  will  cast 
thee  oft' for  ever."   1  Chron.  xxviii.  9. 

How  aftecting  it  is  to  see  persons  who  have  been 
born  of  pious  parents;  who  have  been  taught  in  the 
Scriptures  from  childhood;  and  who  have  had  all  the 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  129 

advantages  of  a  Christian  education,  growing  up  in 
sin,  wholly  neglectiul  of  their  relation  to  tiie  church, 
and  of  their  duty  to  the  God  of  their  fathers !  What- 
ever excuse  may  be  urged  by  those  who  have  been 
reared  in  ignorance,  and  led  astray,  from  the  womb, 
by  the  example  of  their  natural  guardians,  the  child- 
ren of  the  visible  church,  the  offspring  of  God's  pro- 
fessing people,  will  surely  be  inexcusable,  if  they  for- 
sake the  law  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord's  house,  and 
pursue  the  paths  of  the  destroyer.  Let  the  rising 
generation  consider  this  matter  betimes.  Dear  young 
people,  the  goodness  of  Providence,  anticipating  your 
wants  and  foreseeing  your  danger,  has  placed  you 
in  the  most  favourable  circumstances  for  securing  an 
interest  in  redeeming  love.  Will  you,  then,  0  can 
you  disregard  the  claims  of  gratitude — the  grace  of 
the  Redeemer — and  the  counsels  of  parental  solici- 
tude for  your  eternal  welfare?  Are  you  bent  on 
your  own  ruin?  Are  you  resolved  to  press  through 
all  restraints,  and  make  your  way  to  endless  perdi- 
tion, in  the  face  of  all  that  cloud  of  witnesses  which 
attest  the  turpitude  of  sin,  and  the  peace  and  plea- 
santness of  wisdom's  ways?  "  0  that  they  were  wise 
— that  they  understood  this — that  they  would  consider 
their  latter  end!"  Let  young  people  imitate  the  de- 
vout and  contemplative  disposition  of  Isaac;  and  they 
will  find  it  greatly  to  their  spiritual  advantage.  Let 
them  retire  frequently  into  the  field,  or  the  closet  of 
sober  reflection,  and  it  will,  with  a  divine  blessing, 
have  a  happy  influence  in  discovering  to  them  the 
vanity  of  the  world;  let  them  but  consider  seriously 
and  repeatedly  their  latter  end,  and  they  can  hardly 
fail  to  perceive  the  importance  of  preparing  for  death, 
and  the  solemn  scenes  of  eternity.  0  young  man, 
whose  strong  passions  are  hurrying  thee  on  in  the 
pursuit  of  pleasure,  honour,  or  earthly  gain,  go  some- 
times and  take  a  thoughtful  walk  "  on  the  shore  of 
that  vast  ocean  (eternity)  which  you  must  sail  so 
soon."  Think  of  the  day  of  judgment,  and  of  the 
general  resurrection,  and  of  the  righteous  and  irrever- 
sible retributions  of  the  world  to  come.     Push  your 


130  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

thoughts  forward  to  that  momentous  period,  when, 
at  the  sound  of  the  last  trumpet,  '•  they  that  sleep  in 
the  dust  of  the  earth  shall  come  forth,  some  to  ever- 
lasting life,  and,  0  tremendous  reverse!  some  to 
shame  and  everlasting  contempt."  See  the  count- 
less millions  of  the  human  race  starting  into  life; 
rising  to  immortality;  and  looking  up  to  the  descend- 
ing Judge,  with  unutterable  sensations  of  joy  or  grief, 
expecting  from  his  lips  the  final  sentence  which  is  to 
fix  their  doom  for  ever;  and  while  the  awful  scene  is 
full  and  vividly  in  view,  ask  yourself  whether  you  are 
prepared  to  meet  the  Judge  of  quick  and  dead,  and  to 
give  up  your  account  with  joy,  and  not  with  grief. 

"  When  rising  from  the  silent  tomb 
O'erwhehn'd  with  guilt  and  fear, 
To  meet  that  last  unchanging  doom, 
O!  how  will  you  appear?" 


LECTURE    XIV. 

LIFE  OF  JACOB. 

Therefore  God  give  thee  of  the  dew  of  heaven,  and  the  fatness  of  the 
earth,  and  plenty  of  corn  and  wine.  Let  people  serve  thee,  and 
nations  bow  down  to  thee:  be  lord  over  thy  brethren,  and  let  thy 
mother's  sons  bow  down  to  thee :  cursed  be  every  one  that  curseth 
thee,  and  blessed  be  he  that  blesseth  thee. — Gen.  xxvii.  28,  29. 

Isaac,  though  a  man  of  eminent  piety,  was  a  man  of 
afiliction.  It  must  have  been  matter  of  grief  to  him 
that  Esau,  his  favourite  son,  discovered  strong  symp- 
toms of  profaneness,  not  only  by  selling  his  birthright, 
but  by  marrying  into  an  idolatrous  family.  On  one 
occasion  we  find  him  driven  from  Canaan  by  famine, 
and  obliged  to  take  up  his  abode  for  a  season  in  the 
land  of  Philistia.  There,  by  the  good  hand  of  the 
Lord,  his  wants  were  hberally  supplied ;  but  his  pros- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  131 

perity  soon  drew  upon  him  the  envy  of  the  Philis- 
tines; and,  for  many  years,  in  the  latter  part  of  his 
hfe,  he  appears  to  have  been  entirely  blind.  Finding 
himself  nnable,  in  this  condition,  to  snperintend  the 
affairs  of  his  family,  and  the  concerns  of  religion,  he 
wished  to  resign  the  care  of  those  weighty  matters  to 
Esan ;  bnt,  by  the  overrnling  providence  of  God,  the 
solemn  charge  was  devolved  on  Jacob,  in  the  words 
of  our  text,  ''  God  give  thee  of  the  dew  of  heaven," 
&c.  One  design  of  the  present  lecture  is  to  inquire 
into  the  import  of  this  blessing.  But,  before  we  pro- 
ceed, two  or  three  questions,  arising  out  of  the  history 
of  tlie  affair,  seem  to  demand  some  notice.  Why  was 
Jacob  preferred  to  Esau,  in  the  divine  purpose?  How 
came  Isaac  to  be  under  a  mistake  respecting  the  de- 
cree of  heaven  in  that  matter ;  or,  if  he  understood  it, 
why  did  he  aim  to  frustrate  it  ?  What  are  we  to 
think  of  the  imposition  practised,  by  Rebekah  and 
Jacob,  on  Isaac,  in  correcting  his  mistake?  And  how 
can  we  justify  the  conduct  of  providence  in  permit- 
ting its  design  to  be  carried  into  effect,  by  such  means 
as  were  used  in  this  case? 

The  first  question  we  cannot  solve  except  by  re- 
ferring the  choice  of  Jacob,  in  preference  to  Esau,  to 
the  good  pleasure  of  God.  Jehovah  is  free  and  inde- 
pendent in  all  his  designs  and  in  all  his  dispensations; 
all  creatures  are  his,  and  he  has  a  right  to  dispose  of 
them  as  he  sees  fit.  On  this  obvious  principle,  had 
the  preference  in  question  respected  the  eternal  and 
immutable  condition  of  Isaac's  sons,  in  a  future  state, 
we  know  of  no  good  ground  on  which  we  could  find 
fault  with  it:  but,  in  our  opinion,  the  preference  was 
not  so  extensive  in  its  design  as  to  determine  the 
everlasting  destiny  of  either  Jacob  or  Esau.  No  such 
inference  can  be  fairly  deduced  from  the  divine  de- 
claration respecting  them,  while  yet  in  their  mother's 
womb:  "The  one  people  shall  be  stronger  than  the 
other  people;  and  the  elder  shall  serve  the  younger." 
God  designed  that  Jacob,  and  not  Esau,  should  form 
the  next  link  after  Isaac  in  the  chain  of  our  Lord's 
lineage,  according  to  the  flesh;  and  that  the  younger, 


132  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

instead  of  the  elder,  should  succeed  the  father  in  the 
chief  management  of  religions  and  ecclesiastical  mat- 
ters. But  this  design  no  more  determined  that  Esau 
should  perish  eternally,  than  the  calling  of  Abraham 
determined  the  everlasting  destruction  of  all  the  rest 
of  mankind  then  living.  It  is  true  that  Esau,  so  far 
as  we  are  made  acquainted  with  his  character,  ap- 
pears to  have  been  a  wicked  man;  and  if  he  served 
sin  in  the  lusts  thereof,  he  no  doubt  received  its  wages, 
which  is  death;  but  Jacob's  being  preferred,  and  des- 
tined to  rule  over  him,  in  the  family  and  in  the  church, 
imposed  on  him  no  necessity  to  be  profane  and  do 
wickedly. 

As  to  the  second  question  which  presents  us  with 
this  alternative,  viz.  That  Isaac  was  either  ignorant 
of  the  divine  purpose,  assigning  the  paternal  l3lessing 
to  Jacob;  or,  knowing  the  decree,  he  aimed  to  frus- 
trate it;  we  think  it  would  be  unjust  and  uncharhable 
to  impute  to  him  a  wish  to  defeat  or  oppose  the  will 
of  God  in  that  matter,  had  he  rightly  understood  it. 
We  suppose,  therefore,  that  he  was  in  an  error,  that 
he  verily  believed  Esau,  as  the  first-born,  was  entitled 
by  custom  to  the  blessing;  and,  accordingly,  would 
have  conferred  it  upon  him  had  not  providence  inter- 
posed. That  Isaac's  error  was  altogether  blameless, 
in  this  instance,  we  do  not  assert ;  he  may  not  have 
been  as  attentive  as  he  should  have  been  to  the  indi- 
cations of  the  divine  will ;  and,  as  he  was  evidently 
partial  to  Esau,  his  passionate  fondness  for  a  favour- 
ite son  may  have  darkened  his  views  of  duty,  and  led 
him  to  mistake  his  own  wishes  for  the  will  of  his 
Maker.  He  seems  to  have  been  convinced  ultimately 
of  his  error,  and  to  have  acquiesced  in  the  divine  dis- 
posal of  the  blessing,  without  murmuring :  for  upon 
Esau's  application  for  the  benediction,  which  had  just 
been  given  to  Jacob,  the  father  says  firmly,  yet  feel- 
ingly, as  if  sensible  that  he  had  heretofore  been  fight- 
ing against  God,  "  I  have  blessed  him,  i.  e.  Jacob, 
yea,  and  he  shall  be  blessed." 

As  to  the  intrigue  and  falsehood  employed  by  Re- 
bekah  and  Jacob,  in  this  affair,  we  have  no  apology 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  133 

to  make  for  them;  a  pious  fraud  is  just  as  flagrant  a 
violation  of  the  law  of  truth  and  honesty,  as  any- 
other  piece  of  deliberate  and  wilful  deception.  The 
deed  of  sale,  ratified  by  oath,  which  made  over  to 
Jacob  the  primogeniture,  even  supposing  the  birth- 
right included  the  paternal  blessing,  conveyed  no 
license  to  use  unlawful  and  immoral  measures  to  se- 
cure it.  That  end  which  cannot  be  accomplished 
without  resorting  to  unlawful  means,  may,  to  say  the 
least,  be  suspected  of  being  a  bad  end;  iior  can  any 
end,  however  great  and  holy,  sanctify  unhallowed 
means.  Had  they  a  full  conviction  that  God  designed 
the  blessing  for  the  younger,  and  not  for  the  elder? 
Then  they  should  have  waited  patiently  for  God  to 
efl'ect  his  own  design  in  his  own  way.  The  Lord  of 
all  the  earth  will  do  right;  his  purposes  are  holy;  his 
power  infinite,  and  his  resources  abundant;  lie  has 
means  enough,  always  at  hand,  to  accomplish  his  de- 
signs, without  tarnishing  his  glorious  goodness,  or  fix- 
ing a  stigma  on  his  immaculate  purity.  And,  read- 
ers, while  we  thus  cer.sure  the  wickedness  of  Jacob 
and  his  mother,  in  this  affair,  may  we  not  take  a  use- 
ful hint,  even  from  their  misconduct?  We  are  often 
perplexed,  and  in  straits — often  at  a  loss  to  reconcile 
the  promises  of  God  with  the  dispensations  of  his  pro- 
vidence. When  this  is  our  case,  let  us  wait  on  the 
Lord,  and  stay  ourselves  on  the  Most  High;  if  he  as- 
signs us  a  heavy  cross,  let  us  take  it  up,  and  bear  it 
patiently;  let  us  follow  our  blessed  Master  whither- 
soever he  may  conduct  us,  but  let  us  never  go  before 
him,  by  the  use  of  forbidden  expedients,  for  the  pur- 
pose either  of  getting  rid  of  our  trials,  or  of  bringing 
about  what  we  may  believe  to  be  according  to  the 
good  pleasure  of  his  will.  Whatever  may  be  our 
circumstances,  either  in  temporal,  or  in  spiritual  con- 
cerns, let  us  confidently,  yet  humbly,  commit  our 
cause  to  God  our  Saviour,  for  "  blessed  are  they  who 
put  their  trust  in  him!" 

But  how  shall  we  justify  the  conduct  of  Divine 
Providence  in  permitting  its  design  to  be  accomplished 
by  such  means  as  Rebekah  and  Jacob  used  in  wrost- 
12 


134  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

ing  the  blessing  from  Esau?  This  is  a  difficulty 
which  belongs,  in  common,  to  several  cases  recorded 
in  sacred  Scripture ;  and  though  we  may  not  be  able 
to  justify  the  ways  of  God  to  man,  in  the  case  now 
before  us,  or  in  any  other  given  case,  yet,  that  they 
are  justifiable,  and  that  they  will  be  vindicated  one 
day  to  the  honour  of  the  divine  government,  and  to 
the  entire  satisfaction  of  holy  men  and  angels,  it  is 
our  happiness  most  confidently  to  believe.  Let  it  be 
carefully  observed,  that  the  difficulty  is  not  peculiar 
to  the  case  now  under  consideration.  God  designed 
that  Joseph  should  go  into  Egypt  to  prepare  the  way 
for  Jacob  and  the  rest  of  his  family;  but  God  never 
required  Joseph's  brethren  to  conspire  against  him, 
and  send  him  thither  as  a  slave. — It  was  '^accord- 
ing to  the  determinate  counsel  and  foreknowledge  of 
God,"  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  to  die,  the  just  for 
the  unjust;  but  the  righteous  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth  never  required  Pontius  Pilate  to  condemn  the 
innocent,  or  the  Jews  and  Romans  to  take  liim,  and, 
with  wicked  hands,  to  crucify  and  slay  him.  So  God 
designed  that  Jacob  should  inherit  the  paternal  bless- 
ing; but  who  will  say  that  he  either  demanded  or 
needed  circumvention  and  falsehood  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  his  design  ?  In  all  these  cases  the  hu- 
man agency  concerned  in  bringing  about  the  several 
events,  was  volunteered.  No  necessity  of  doing  wick- 
edly was  laid  upon  Joseph's  brethren,  nor  on  the  mur- 
derers of  our  Saviour,  nor  on  Jacob  and  Rebekah; 
they  acted  freely,  deliberately,  and  voluntarily  ;  their 
acts  were  their  own,  and  theirs  were  the  guilt  and 
turpitude  of  those  evil  deeds,  which  the  wonder- 
working hand  of  God  overruled  for  good,  and  ren- 
dered subservient  to  his  most  holy  and  merciful  de- 
signs. If  you  ask  why  God  did  not  prevent  the  acts 
of  these  wicked  agents,  you  might  as  well  ask  why 
he  permits  the  wicked  to  act  voluntarily,  i.  e.  why  he 
does  not  divest  them  of  their  moral  character,  and 
free  them  at  once  from  all  responsibility  for  the  deeds 
done  in  the  body.  The  power  that  educes  good  out 
of  evil,  that  lays  the  worst  actions  of  men  under  con- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  135 

tributioii  to  tlie  most  wortliy  purposes  of  heaven,  is, 
indeed,  mysterious,  and,  to  our  feeble  intellect,  utterly 
incomprehensible;  yet  that  there  is  such  a  power  con- 
tinually operating  in  our  world,  we  as  fully  believe, 
as  that  the  sum  of  all  the  parts  is  equal  to  the  whole, 
or  that  two  and  two  make  four.  "  The  Lord  reign- 
eth;  let  the  earth  rejoice,  and  the  multitude  of  the 
isles  be  glad  thereof"  Rebekah  and  her  favourite 
son  may  have  designed  evil  against  Esau;  they  fol- 
lowed the  devices  of  their  own  hearts;  their  motives 
may  have  been  bad;  their  agency  was  unsolicited  and 
obtrusive;  the  means  they  employed  were  wicked 
and  unwarrantable,  as  appeared  in  the  sequel,  by 
their  personal  sorrows,  as  well  as  by  the  feuds  and 
animosities  which  their  unnatural  conspiracy  engen- 
dered: they  repented,  however,  and  both,  we  may 
hope,  obtained  forgiveness  through  grace.  But  the 
divine  purpose  was  good;  nor  was  it  to  be  frustrated 
by  the  ignorance,  or  ill  designs  of  erring  mortals. 
The  mistake  of  the  fond  father,  and  the  pious  fraud 
of  the  partial  mother  and  her  ill-advised  son,  are  over- 
ruled by  a  wise  and  gracious  Providence.  Jacob  re- 
ceives the  benediction,  and,  through  him,  it  is  con- 
veyed not  only  to  his  immediate  descendants,  the 
heads  of  the  twelve  tribes,  but  to  the  seed  of  Abra- 
ham, the  church  of  the  living  God,  down  to  genera- 
tions yet  unborn. 

Proceed  we  now  to  inquire  briefly  into  the  mean- 
ing of  the  paternal  blessing:  "  God  give  thee  of  the 
dew  of  heaven,  and  the  fatness  of  the  earth,  and 
plenty  of  corn  and  wine.  Let  people  serve  thee,  and 
nations  bow  down  unto  thee;  be  lord  over  thy  breth- 
ren, and  let  thy  mother's  sons  bow  down  to  thee: 
cursed  be  every  one  that  curseth  thee,  and  blessed  be 
he  that  blesseth  thee.''  This  solemn  and  religious 
benediction,  was  one  of  the  distinguishing  usages  of 
the  patriarchal  or  Abrahamic  dispensation;  the  de- 
sign was,  as  has  been  already  observed,  to  transmit 
the  promise  of  Canaan,  of  a  numerous  progeny,  of 
divine  protection;  and,  especially,  the  promise  of  that 
seed  of  the  woman  that  was  to  bruise  the  serpent's 


136  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

head,  and  in  whom  all  the  families  of  the  earth  are  to 
be  blessed ;  as,  also,  to  transmit  from  father  to  son 
the  sacerdotal  office,  as  it  then  existed;  so  that  the 
son  who  received  the  blessing,  was  invested  with 
authority  to  ofler  sacrifices,  and  preside,  generally,  in 
ecclesiastical  concerns;  and,  along  this  line  of  succes- 
sion, as  far  as  it  extends,  we  are  to  look  for  the  line- 
age of  him,  who  "came  a  hght  into  the  world,''  and 
who  is  the  Prophet,  the  High  Priest,  the  King,  and 
sole  Head  of  the  Church. 

It  is  observable  that  the  blessing  here  given  to  Ja- 
cob, is  prophetic;  and  that  it  consists  of  three  branches; 
viz.  all  needful  supplies  of  worldly  substance ; — ex- 
tensive dominion; — family  pre-eminence,  and  great 
and  lasting  spiritual  advantages.  "  God  give  thee,  or 
God  shall  give  thee  of  the  dew  of  heaven."  In  hot 
countries,  where  rain  is  less  frequent  than  in  others, 
the  morning  and  evening  dews  afford  an  appropriate 
image  of  plentiful  harvests  and  fruitful  seasons.  "And 
the  fatness  of  the  earth."  Canaan,  assigned  as  the 
temporal  residence  of  Jacob's  posterity,  was  a  fertile 
soil;  and,  therefore,  it  is  called  "  a  fat  land,"  Neh.  ix. 
25,  and  the  fatness  of  the  land  means  its  produce,  in 
rich  abundance.  "  Plenty  of  corn  and  wine,"  are 
expressions  of  similar  import.  "  Let  people  serve, 
and  nations  bow  down  unto  thee;"  this  was  fulfilled 
to  Jacob's  descendants,  when  the  Idumeans,  the  Ara- 
bians, and  Syrians,  were  subservient  to  the  Israelites, 
in  the  reigns  of  David  and  Solomon.  "And  let  thy 
mother's  sons  bow  down  unto  thee;"  this  part  of  the 
blessing  indicated  the  prerogative  of  Jacob,  as  having 
the  chief  authority  in  the  family,  particularly  in  reli- 
gious matters.  "  Cursed  be  every  one  that  curseth 
thee,  and  blessed  be  he  that  blesseth  thee;"  this  is 
manifestly  a  promise  of  divine  protection,  in  the  form 
of  a  solemn  warning  to  the  world,  not  to  treat  the 
church  of  God  with  contumely  or  reproach. 

To  exhibit  the  sense  and  import  of  this  remarkable 
and  prophetic  benediction,  as  fully  as  possible  in  a 
small  compass,  we  would  observe: — That  the  bless- 
ing given  to  Jacob  in  terms  implying  dominion  over 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  137 

his  brethren,  was  a  conveyance  of  authority  in  the 
visible  church,  and  a  transmission  of  the  special  bless- 
ing promised  to  Abraham,  which  related  to  Christ, 
and  his  kingdom.  This  prediction,  then,  had  its  full 
accomplishment,  neither  in  the  person,  nor  in  the  nat- 
ural posterity  of  Jacob,  but  in  that  illustrious  person- 
age descended  from  him  according  to  the  flesh;  and 
"  who  being  in  the  form  of  God,  and  thinking  it  no 
robbery  to  be  equal  with  God,  made  himself  of  no 
reputation,  and  took  upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant, 
humbled  himself,  and  became  obedient  unto  death, 
even  the  death  of  the  cross.  Wherefore,  God  also 
hath  highly  exalted  him,  and  given  him  a  name  which 
is  above  every  name;  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus,  every 
knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  in 
the  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth;  and  that  every 
tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the 
glory  of  God  the  Father."  Phil.  ii. 

Come  the  blessed  day,  when  this  glorious  design 
shall  be  brought  to  pass,  in  the  unbounded  reign  of 
Messiah,  the  Prince  of  Peace,  and  the  desire  of  na- 
tions ! 


12' 


138  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 


LECTUTiE  XY. 


JACOB'S  VISION. 


And  Jacob  went  out  from  Beershcba,  and  went  towards  Haran,  And 
he  lighted  upon  a  certain  place,  and  tarried  there  all  night,  because 
the  sun  was  set:  and  he  took  of  the  stones  of  that  place,  and  put 
them  for  his  pillows,  and  lay  down  in  that  place  to  sleep.  And  he 
dreamed,  and,  behold,  a  ladder  set  upon  the  earth,  and  the  top  of  it 
reached  to  heaven:  and,  behold,  the  angels  of  God  ascending  and 
descending  on  it.  And,  beiiold,  the  Lord  stood  above  it,  and  said, 
I  am  the  Lord  God  of  Abraham  thy  father,  and  the  God  of  Isaac: 
the  land  whereon  thou  liest,  to  thee  will  I  give  it,  and  to  thy  seed. 
And  thy  seed  shall  be  as  the  dust  of  the  earth;  and  thou  shalt 
spread  abroad  to  the  west,  and  to  the  east,  and  to  the  north,  and  to 
the  south  :  and  in  thee,  and  in  thy  seed,  shall  all  the  families  of  the 
earth  be  blessed.  And,  behold,  I  am  with  thee,  and  will  keep  thee 
in  all  places  whither  thou  goest,  and  will  bring  thee  again  into  this 
land:  for  I  will  not  leave  ♦thee,  until  I  have  done  that  which  I  have 
spoken  to  thee  of. — Gen.  xxviii.  10-15. 

We  wish  it  to  be  recollected,  that  tliese  lectures  are 
not  designed  to  be  a  commentary  on  the  whole  Bible; 
but  to  explain  and  defend  a  few  of  the  most  remarka- 
ble facts  and  doctrines  exhibited  in  the  sacred  text — 
to  trace  the  history  of  the  church — to  bring  into  view 
her  form  of  government,  and  rites  of  worship — to 
notice  the  changes  made  therein,  from  time  to  time — 
and,  particularly,  to  show  the  faithfulness  of  Jehovah, 
in  fulfilling  to  her  his  promises,  in  protecting  her,  and 
in  augmenting  her  advantages,  increasing  lier  num- 
bers, and  extending  her  influence,  through  successive 
generations,  for  the  accomplishment  of  his  great  and 
merciful  designs  in  regard  to  our  guilty  race.  Our 
readers  are  not,  therefore,  to  expect  us  to  give  them 
even  the  biography  of  the  patriarchs,  except  in  so  far 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  139 

as  may  be  necessary  to  unfold  the  providence  of  God, 
as  it  has  been  employed  in  carrying  into  efTect  the 
stipulations  of  the  covenant  with  Abraham,  respect- 
ing the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ — the  seed 
in  which  all  the  families  of  the  earth  are  to  be  blessed. 

Jacob  had  now  obtained  the  paternal  benediction. 
As  the  successor  of  his  father  Isaac,  he  was  invested 
with  the  sacerdotal  office  as  it  was  then  exercised, 
and  stood  first  in  matters  religious  and  ecclesiastical. 
He  had  used  unlawful  means  to  reach  this  eminent 
and  honourable  station,  and  he  was  therefore  severely 
chastised  for  his  sin,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  sequel  of 
his  history.  God,  however,  while  he  manifests  his 
displeasure  at  Jacob's  unrighteousness,  by  resolving 
to  correct  him  for  his  folly  and  wickedness,  never- 
theless, recognizes  his  accession  to  the  primogenial 
privileges,  and,  accordingly,  renews  to  him  the  pro- 
mises and  engagements  betbre  made  to  Abraham  and 
Isaac. 

The  occasion  of  Jacob's  leaving  his  father's  house, 
as  we  are  informed  in  the  close  of  the  preceding  chap- 
ter, was  the  envy  and  cruel  hatred  of  Esau,  who,  un- 
der the  influence  of  a  bad  heart,  had  formed  the  hor- 
rid design  of  murdering  his  brother,  so  soon  as  their 
father  should  be  laid  in  the  dust.  The  time  fixed  on 
for  the  perpetration  of  this  deed  of  vengeance,  shows 
Esau's  dreadful  wickedness,  and  entire  want  of  affec- 
tion for  his  mother:  "The  days  of  mourning  for  my 
father  are  at  hand,"  says  he,  "then  will  I  slay  my 
brother  Jacob."  To  prevent  the  execution  of  this 
malicious  purpose,  the  supplanter  is  directed  to  retire 
quietly  to  Mesopotamia,  and  there  remain  with  his 
mother's  kindred  till  the  violence  of  Esau's  revenge- 
ful passion  should  so  far  abate,  as  to  encourage  a  hope 
of  mutual  forgiveness  and  reconciliation.  This  pre- 
cautionary measure,  though  it  was  certainly  wise,  in 
existing  circumstances,  must  have  been  grievously 
afflictive  to  Rebekah,  and,  indeed,  to  all  the  members 
of  Isaac's  household,  in  whom  the  evil  passions  iiad 
not  obtained  an  ascendancy  over  the  sympathies  and 
better   feelings  of  nature.     And  from  the  readiness 


140  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

with  which  Jacob  consented  to  be  exiled  from  his 
father's  house,  we  may  suppose  he  began  to  feel  some 
ingenuous  compunction  for  the  bad  conduct  by  which 
he  had  brought  trouble,  not  only  on  himself,  but  also 
on  his  aged  and  beloved  parents.  "  The  way  of 
transgressors  is  hard;"  and,  even  God's  own  people, 
are  not  without  some  experunental  acquaintance  with 
the  awful  truth  of  this  maxim.  They  sin  often,  but 
never  with  impunity.  If  they  become  remiss  in  duty, 
or  violate  any  of  the  divine  precepts,  they  are  sure, 
either  to  be  overtaken  by  outward  affliction,  or  to  lose 
that  comfortable  sense  of  an  interest  in  redeeming 
love,  which  the  pious  heart  prizes  above  rubies. 
While  we  view  the  father  of  the  twelve  tribes  of 
Israel  obliged  to  leave  the  loved  scene  of  his  youthful 
pleasures,  and  enter  on  a  journey  of  three  or  four 
hundred  miles,  lonely  and  sorrowful,  because  of  his 
sin  and  ambitious  folly,  let  our  fervent  prayer  ascend 
to  heaven,  that  we  may  have  grace  to  "do  justly,  to 
love  mercy,  and  walk  humbly  with  our  God." 

It  may  seem  strange  that  Jacob,  whose  father  must 
have  been  a  man  of  wealth,  should  set  out  on  so  long 
a  journey  so  destitute,  and  without  a  single  attendant. 
That  he  should  be  dismissed  quietly,  and  without  a 
retinue  or  any  great  preparations,  was  proper,  not 
only  in  order  to  avoid  exciting  Esau's  envy,  which  a 
small  matter  might  have  drawn  into  open  acts  of  vio- 
lence, but  that  he,  who  was  intended  for  future  ser- 
vices of  a  trying  nature,  might  learn  to  endure  hard- 
ness in  the  school  of  adversity,  and  that  the  dependent 
circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed,  might  afford 
him  a  strong  inducement  to  repose  his  entire  confi- 
dence on  the  care  and  munificence  of  heaven.  Be- 
reavements and  privations,  when  sanctified,  are  bless- 
ings in  disguise.  Affliction  often  furnishes  us  with 
an  errand  to  the  throne  of  grace,  and  divine  consola- 
tions are  never  more  welcome  to  the  soul,  than  when 
we  feel  the  hollowness  and  instability  of  earthly  en- 
joyments. The  truth  of  this  remark  is  strikingly  ex- 
emplified in  the  life  and  experience  of  Jacob. 

The  only  incident  of  importance,  that  occurred  on 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  141 

liis  way  to  Ilaran,  with  wliich  we  are  made  ac- 
quainted, is  related  in  the  text:  "He  hghted  upon  a 
certain  place  and  tarried  there  all  night,  because  the 
sun  was  set;  and  he  took  of  the  stones  of  that  place, 
and  put  them  for  his  pillows,  and  lay  down  in  that 
place  to  sleep."  This  was  hard  fare  for  one  who  had 
been  accustomed  to  the  comforts  of  home,  and  the 
assiduous  attentions  of  a  fond  mother.  But  why 
should  Jacob  choose  to  sleep  in  the  open  air,  in  or 
near  the  town  of  Luz,  where  it  seems  probable  he 
might  have  had  more  comfortable  lodging?  The  fact 
may  appear  strange  to  us,  because  it  does  not  accord 
with  the  usages  of  our  age  and  country;  but  when 
the  circumstances  of  the  case  are  taken  into  view,  we 
shall  have  no  reason  to  question  its  truth.  We  need 
not  suppose  that  he  was  unprovided  with  the  means 
of  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  journey;  but,  in 
those  days  there  were  no  inns  for  the  entertainment 
of  travellers,  and  Luz  may  not  have  been  distin- 
guished for  its  hospitality  to  strangers.  However 
this  may  have  been,  the  climate  was  warm,  the  air 
bland,  and  if  the  night  were  pleasant,  a  man,  used  to 
a  shepherd's  way  of  living,  might  sleep  quite  com- 
fortably under  shelter  of  a  tree.  Our  sympathies  are 
excited  while  we  view  the  solitary  traveller  overtaken 
by  night,  reposing  on  the  ground,  with  a  stone  for  his 
pillow,  and  the  sky  for  his  canopy;  yet,  it  is  highly 
probable,  that  Jacob  never  passed  a  happier  night  in 
his  life.  His  lodging  in  the  open  air  seems  to  have 
been  ordered  by  Providence,  as  a  preparatory  step  to 
what  followed:  "And  he  dreamed,  and  behold,  a  lad- 
der set  upon  the  earth,  and  the  top  of  it  reached  to 
heaven;  and,  behold,  the  angels  of  God  ascending 
and  descending  on  it;  and,  behold,  the  Lord  stood 
above  it,  and  said,  I  am  the  Lord  God  of  Abraham 
thy  father,  and  the  God  of  Isaac:  the  land  whereon 
thou  liest,  to  thee  will  I  give  it,  and  to  thy  seed." 
Dreams  and  visions  constituted  one  of  the  modes  in 
which  God  revealed  his  will  to  man  in  those  early 
ages,  before  the  canon  of  sacred  Scripture  was  com- 
pleted.    The  design  of  the  one  recorded  in  the  words 


142  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORT. 

just  recited,  appears  to  have  been  to  show  tliat  there 
is  ati  intercourse  maintained  between  heaven  and 
earth — that  God  exercises  a  providence  over  the 
works  of  his  hand  in  this  world,  and  that  angels  are 
employed  as  the  messengers  and  executioners  of  his 
will  towards  mankind.  Of  the  doctrine  of  providence, 
we  have  a  full  development  in  the  New  Testament; 
but  it  is  not  peculiar  to  the  Christian  dispensation. 
It  was  gradually  revealed,  with  increasing  evidence, 
from  the  creation:  indeed,  it  is  a  doctrine  which  is 
fairly  deducible  from  the  existence  and  perfections  of 
the  Creator.  It  is  utterly  incredible,  that  the  only 
wise  God  would  make,  and  beautify  such  a  world  as 
this,  and  then  leave  it,  with  all  its  inhabitants,  with- 
out any  further  notice.  This  symbolical  representa- 
tion must  have  been  in  a  high  degree  useful  and  im- 
pressive to  Jacob,  in  his  present  lonely  and  afflicted 
circumstances.  Far  from  his  father's  house  and  all 
the  comforts  of  home,  he  was  hereby  encouraged  to 
put  his  trust  in  the  Father  of  spirits,  whose  tender  mer- 
cies and  watchful  care  are  over  all  his  works.  Nor 
was  this  manifestation  of  the  divine  providence  de- 
signed for  the  benefit  of  Jacob  alone.  All  the  Scrip- 
ture is  profitable  unto  all  men.  It  is  of  extensive 
import,  and  intended  for  the  use  and  instruction  of 
mankind  to  the  latest  generation.  Let  us  never  for- 
get or  relinquish  our  faith  in  this  important  doctrine. 
Nothing  else  can  afford  us  adequate  support  under 
the  sorrows  and  vicissitudes  of  life.  Through  the 
mediation  of  Christ,  our  heavenly  Father  extends  a 
vigilant  and  unceasing  care  to  the  children  of  men: 
blessed  are  they  who  repose  their  confidence  in  him. 
"His  kingdom  ruleth  overall;"  and  he  makes  "all 
things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
him." 

While  Jacob  contemplated  the  wondrous  vision,  he 
was  addressed  by  a  voice  from  the  Excellent  Glory. 
The  paternal  benediction  was  confirmed  to  him  by 
God,  who  assured  him,  that  the  land  on  which  he 
now  lay,  should  be  given  to  him  and  his  posterity; 
that  his  seed  should  be  numerous  as  the  dust  of  the 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  143 

earth;  and  that  one  of  his  descendants,  accorduig  to 
the  flesh,  should  be  an  extensive  blessing,  insomuch, 
that  in  him  all  the  famihes  of  the  earth  should  be 
blessed.  Then  follows  this  cheering  promise:  "Be- 
hold, saith  the  Lord,  I  am  with  thee,  and  will  keep 
thee  in  all  places  whither  thou  goest,  and  will  bring 
thee  again  into  this  land;  for  I  will  not  leave  thee 
until  I  have  done  that  which  I  have  spoken  to  thee 
of"  The  subsequent  history  shows  that  these  en- 
gagements were  punctually  fulfilled,  and  in  their  ac- 
complishment that  the  providence  of  God  was  often 
and  very  remarkably  displayed. 

The  effect  of  this  vision  on  Jacob's  mind  was  deep 
and  solemn.  He  confessed  the  presence  of  the  ador- 
able Godhead.  Grateful  for  the  assurances  of  divine 
favour  and  guidance  just  received,  he  erected  a  mon- 
ument to  the  honour  of  God,  pouring  oil  upon  it, 
agreeably  to  the  usage  of  that  age;  bound  himself, 
by  a  voluntary  vow,  to  serve  the  Lord,  and  devote  to 
his  service  and  glory  the  tenth  part  of  all  his  earthly 
substance. 

It  seems  probable  that  it  was  on  this  occasion,  and 
not  before,  that  Jacob  became  a  subject  of  true  reli- 
gion. Before  this,  he  certainly  gave  little  or  no  evi- 
dence of  real  piety;  but  henceforward,  though  some 
parts  of  his  conduct  may  be  excepted,  yet,  in  the 
main,  we  find  him  faithful  to  his  vow,  and  walking 
steadfastly  in  the  commandments  and  ordinances  of 
God. 

Respected  readers,  have  you  all  dedicated  your- 
selves to  the  Lord  in  the  way  of  his  appointment? 
You  too  are  pilgrims  and  strangers  on  this  earth. 
You  are  all  on  a  journey  to  the  world  of  spirits:  your 
days,  like  those  of  a  hireling,  will  soon  be  accom- 
plished:— Is  the  God  of  Jacob  your  God?  Is  reli- 
gion— is  salvation — is  heaven  your  aim,  and  the  ob- 
ject of  your  supreme  desire?  God,  in  the  gospel  of 
his  grace,  has  uttered  many  great  and  precious  pro- 
mises. Have  you  laid  hold  of  the  hope  set  before 
you?    Are  the  lives,  which  you  now  live  in  the  flesh, 


144  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

lives  of  faith  in  the  Son  of  God?  Then  happy  are 
ye:  for  tlie  Lord  will  not  leave  you  until  he  has  done 
that  which  he  has  spoken  to  you  of!  And  if  any  are 
not  in  this  happy  condition,  let  them  make  haste  and 
delay  not  to  "  seek  the  Lord  while  he  may  be  found, 
and  to  call  upon  him  while  he  is  near." 

We  can  but  barely  glance  at  the  remaining  events 
of  Jacob's  life.  Under  the  guidance  of  a  gracious  and 
almighty  Providence,  he  reached  Mesopotamia  in 
safety,  and  was  received  by  his  kindred  with  flatter- 
ing marks  of  kindness.  He  continued  in  that  country 
about  twenty  years;  acquired  great  riches;  married 
two  wives,  Rachel  and  Leah,  daughters  of  Laban, 
and  had  two  concubines,  Bilhah  and  Zilpah,  the 
hand-maidens  of  his  wives.  He  cannot  be  justified 
in  yielding  to  the  custom  of  polygamy  and  concu- 
binage, which  was  then  common.  He  had  no  divine 
warrant  for  so  doing;  nay,  the  thing  is  obviously  for- 
bidden, at  least  by  implication,  in  the  original  insti- 
tution of  marriage:  "  T/ieT/  two  (not  they  three,  or 
more,)  shall  be  one  flesh.^^  The  nearly  equal  num- 
ber of  males  and  females — the  former  being  to  the 
latter  about  as  twenty  to  nineteen — strongly  intimates 
the  design  of  the  Creator  in  this  matter.  But  expe- 
rience, whose  lessons  are  uniformly  according  to  truth, 
proves  incontestably,  that  polygamy  is  unnatural,  and 
of  course,  unfavourable  to  virtue,  to  happiness,  and 
the  best  and  dearest  interests  of  human  society.  In 
the  family  of  Jacob  it  was  the  source  of  more  trouble 
and  confusion  than  any  other  single  cause,  that  is  no- 
ticed in  the  history  of  his  life.  Indeed,  it  is  a  practice 
which  for  ever  carries  with  it  the  undeniable  evidences 
of  its  folly  and  pernicious  tendency.  Yet,  as  this  cus- 
tom did  not  involve  the  violationof  any  express  moral 
precept  then  given.  Providence  seems  to  have  intend- 
ed that  its  ill  effects  should  gradually  prepare  the  way 
for  its  discontinuance  and  entire  abolition.  This  has 
taken  place  under  the  Christian  dispensation.  "  We 
have  no  such  custom." 

While  in  Mesopotamia,  the  patriarch  had  born  unto 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  145 

him  eleven  sons  and  one  daughter.  On  the  hirth  of 
Joseph,  who  was  the  youngest  born  in  that  country, 
Jacob  intimated  to  Laban  his  wish  to  return  to  Ca- 
naan; but  Laban  objected  to  his  departure,  rather 
from  selfish  than  from  friendly  motives:  "I  have 
learned,  by  experience,"  said  he,  "  that  the  Lord  hath 
blessed  me  for  thy  sake."  Jacob,  however,  continued 
a  few  years  longer  with  his  father-in-law,  and  was 
greatly  prospered  in  his  outward  circumstances.  His 
growing  wealth  attracted  the  envy  of  Laban's  sons: 
idolatry  began  to  get  footing  in  his  family:  where- 
upon, being  admonished  of  God  so  to  do,  and  being 
favoured  with  a  repetition  of  the  promise  of  divine 
protection,  he  gathered  his  family  and  possessions 
together,  and  set  out  for  his  father's  house.  Laban, 
offended  at  his  sudden  removal,  pursued  him  in 
wrath,  and  overtook  him  on  Mount  Gilead,  where, 
by  a  special  interposition  of  Providence,  Jacob  and 
his  family  were  secured  from  danger,  and  a  covenant 
of  amity  was  formed  between  them.  It  is  pleasing 
to  see  the  unhappy  difference  terminating  in  a  friend- 
ly manner;  both  parties  pledging  their  faith,  to  be  at 
peace,  and  to  love  as  brethren. 

Jacob's  next  concern  was  to  meet  his  brother  Esau 
in  peace.  The  means  which  he  used  for  this  end  were 
wisely  selected,  and  completely  successful;  they  were 
a  friendly  message,  a  rich  present,  and  fervent  prayer. 
The  brothers  met — mutually  buried  their  animosities; 
and  we  find  them,  subsequently,  united  in  paying  the 
last  tribute  of  filial  regard  to  their  deceased  father. 
These  happy  events  and  kind  deliverances  Jacob  as- 
cribed to  an  all-wise  and  overruling  Providence :  for 
he  was  a  man  of  prayer — a  man  who,  ever  after  the 
vision  at  Bethel,  appears  to  have  cultivated  habits  of 
devotion,  and  to  have  enjoyed  very  intimate  commu- 
nion with  God.  His  encounter  near  the  brook  Jab- 
bock,  with  a  personage  called  at  first  a  man^  and 
afterwards  God,  or,  as  some  say  (and  we  believe  not 
without  good  reason)  with  the  God-man  Mediator, 
we  take  to  be  a  symbolical  representation  of  the  en- 
ergy and  prevalence  of  his  supplications.  To  per- 
13 


146  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

petiiate  the  remembrance  of  this  trait  in  his  character, 
as  also  to  encourage  other  suppUants,  his  name  was 
changed  from  Jacob  to  Israel^  which  signifies  one  who 
has  power  with  God,  and  prevails. 


LECTURE  XVI. 

JOSEPH  SOLD  BY  HIS  BRETHREN. 

And  Joseph  said  unto  his  brethren,  Come  near  to  me,  I  pray  you : 
and  they  came  near.  And  be  said,  I  am  Joseph  your  brother, 
whom  ye  sold  into  Egypt.  Now,  therefore,  be  not  grieved,  nor 
angry  with  yourselves,  that  ye  sold  me  hither :  for  God  did  send 
me  before  you  to  preserve  life.  For  these  two  years  hath  the 
famine  been  in  the  land;  and  yet  there  are  five  years,  in  the  which 
there  shall  neither  be  earing  nor  harvest.  And  God  sent  me  before 
you  to  preserve  you  a  posterity  in  the  earth,  and  to  save  your  lives 
by  a  great  deliverance.  So  now,  it  was  not  you  that  sent  me  hither, 
but  God:  and  he  hath  made  me  a  fatlier  to  Pharaoh,  and  lord 
of  all  his  house,  and  a  ruler  throughout  all  the  land  of  -Kgypt." — 
Gen.  xlv.  4-8. 

The  life  of  Joseph  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  and 
instructive  pieces  of  history  in  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures.  The  style  is  uniformly  beautiful,  the  in- 
cidents eminently  touching,  and  the  moral  lessons 
conveyed  in  the  inspired  narrative,  are,  in  a  very 
high  degree,  practical  and  useful.  But  that  which 
principally  claims  our  attention,  in  this  portion  of  the 
sacred  records,  is  the  providence  of  God,  as  it  is  mani- 
fested in  the  preservation  and  enlargement  of  the 
visible  church.  To  this  grand  object,  indeed,  our 
views  are  to  be  chiefly  directed  in  these  lectures.  We 
purposely  avoid  going  into  minute  details,  either  in 
relation  to  characters,  or  difficulties,  which  occur  in 
the  holy  Scriptures.  Those  who  have  the  taste  and 
the  leisure  for  extensive   inquiry  on  sucii  subjects, 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  147 

will  find  them  ably  and  elaborately  discussed,  by  Dr. 
Henry  Hunter,  in  his  "  Sacred  Biography,"  the  Rev. 
Tlionias  Robinson,  in  his  "Scripture  Characters,"  Dr. 
Wilham  Bengo  Collyer,  in  his  "  Lectures  on  Scrip- 
ture Facts;"  by  Stackhouse  and  Burder,  in  their  res- 
pective "Histories  of  the  Bible;"  and  by  other  writers 
of  distinction,  that  need  not  be  mentioned. 

In  these  brief  sketches  of  Biblical  History,  our  aim 
is  to  exhibit,  in  a  plain  and  practical  manner,  the 
church  of  God,  as  distinguished  from  the  world,  by 
the  revealed  truths  of  which  she  was  the  repository, 
by  her  rites  of  worship,  and  by  the  special  care  of 
divine  Providence,  in  guarding  her  interests,  chas- 
tising her  for  her  sins,  and  promoting  her  edification 
by  the  agency  of  a  great  variety  of  means. 

That  we  may  attend,  profitably,  to  the  general  sub- 
ject presented  in  the  passage  of  Scripture  now  before 
us,  let  it  be  carefully  noted,  that  the  family  of  Jacob 
were,  at  the  time  referred  to,  the  salt  of  the  earth,  in 
their  collective  capacity,  though  individuals  among 
them  manifested  very  little,  if  any  thing,  of  the  sa- 
vour of  godliness — that  they  therefore  needed  chas- 
tisement to  bring  them  to  a  sense  of  duty,  and  to 
reclaim  them  from  their  evil  ways — that  they  were, 
nevertheless,  Abraham's  seed,  to  whom  the  land  of 
Canaan  had  been,  long  before,  solemnly  promised — 
that  they  now  sojourned  there,  in  the  midst  of  idola- 
ters, whose  manners  were  exceedingly  infectious — 
that  it  was,  therefore,  judged  proper  by  the  great  dis- 
poser of  events  and  of  nations,  that  they  should  be 
removed  to  Egypt,  where,  by  a  suitable  course  of 
discipline,  they  might  be  prepared  to  take  exclusive 
possession  of  the  promised  inheritance,  and  to  occupy 
it  agreably  to  the  intention  of  the  divine  donor;  and, 
further,  that  Infinite  Wisdom  deemed  it  necessary, 
that  one  of  their  number,  the  most  amiable,  no  doubt, 
of  the  whole  family,  the y<:////^r  «/r;7ze  except ed,?>\\o\\\(\. 
be  sent  before  them,  to  provide  for  their  reception 
and  comfortable  sustenance,  during  their  feeble  and 
defenceless  condition.  Let  it  be  recollected,  more- 
over, that   the  preservation  of  the  family  of  Israel 


148  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

from  extinction,  and  from  entire  apostasy  to  the  vices 
and  abominable  idolatries  of  surrounding  nations,  was 
intended  to  be,  ultimately^  as  it  has  actually  proved 
already  to  many  nations,  a  blessing  of  transcendant 
magnitude  to  the  whole  ivorld  of  mankind.  The 
truth  and  ordinances  of  the  hving  God,  in  which  is 
promulgated  the  gracious  plan  of  redeeming  love,  are 
benefits  of  inestimable  importance  to  our  benighted 
and  guilty  race.  Now,  if  these  oracles  of  truth  and 
grace  were  to  be  conferred  at  all,  they  must,  from  the 
nature  of  the  case,  be  deposited,  in  the  first  instance, 
with  some  select  and  particular  portion  of  the  human 
family;  and,  if  so,  what  objection  can  be  made  to  the 
children  of  Jacob,  that  will  not  lie,  with  equal  force, 
against  any  other  tribe  or  nation  that  ever  existed? 

It  was  the  holy  and  immutable  purpose  of  God, 
that  his  people  Israel  should  go  down  to  Egypt,  and 
that  they  should  be  nourished  in  the  land  of  Goshen 
until,  from  a  mere  handful,  they  should  become  a 
great  nation.  The  preparatory  steps  taken,  and  the 
means  employed  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  end, 
are  marked  by  the  same  mysteriousness  that  charac- 
terizes all  the  works  and  ways  of  the  unsearchable 
God.  Joseph,  the  principal  agent  in  the  whole  trans- 
action, already  bereft  of  his  mother,  must,  at  the  ten- 
der and  impressible  age  of  seventeen  years,  be  torn 
from  the  embraces  of  a  fond  father,  bartered  away, 
through  envy,  by  his  brethren,  dragged  to  the  court 
of  Pharaoh,  sold  as  a  slave  to  the  captain  of  the  king's 
guard;  and  under  pretext  of  a  false  and  foul  accusa- 
tion, thrust  into  prison,  where  he  languished  for  seve- 
ral years.  Then,  when  he  had  been  sufficiently  drilled 
in  the  school  of  affliction,  to  bear,  without  serious  det- 
riment to  his  religious  character,  the  sunny  and  sooth- 
ing smiles  of  prosperity,  this  same  Joseph  is  elevated, 
by  a  series  of  extraordinary  providential  events,  from 
a  dungeon  to  the  office  of  prime  minister  of  state,  ''a 
father  to  Pharaoh,  a  lord  of  all  his  house,  and  a  ruler 
throughout  all  the  land  of  Egypt."  In  all  this  won- 
derful process,  Joseph  seems  to  have  recognized,  with 
unshaken  faith  and  filial  confidence,  the  hand  of  Je- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  149 

hovah;  and,  therefore,  a  feeling  of  revenge  towards 
those  who  had  been  instrumental  in  procuring  his 
degradation  and  sufi'erings,  had  no  place  in  his  pious 
and  magnanimous  soul.  He  did,  indeed,  use  great 
reserve,  and  something  like  harshness  and  severity 
towards  his  brethren  at  their  first  visit,  as  we  shall 
see  in  the  sequel.  But  these  measures  were  obvious- 
ly employed  to  bring  them  to  salutary  compunction, 
for  the  Avicked  and  unnatural  part  which  they  had 
acted,  not  only  in  selling  him  to  the  company  of  mer- 
chants, but  in  trifling  with  the  feelings  and  disregard- 
ing the  honour  and  happiness  of  an  aged  and  venera- 
ble father.  This  end  secured,  their  sorrow  for  their 
misdeeds  being  apparent,  he  is  all  forgiveness;  and, 
instead  of  upbraiding  them,  he  mingles  his  tears  with 
theirs,  and  endeavours  to  make  them  feel  that  they 
are  in  the  presence  of  a  brother,  and  in  the  hand  of 
a  merciful  and  sin-pardoning  God:  "Now,  therefore, 
be  not  grieved  nor  angry  with  yourselves,  that  ye 
sold  me  hither;  for  God  did  send  me  before  you  to 
preserve  life." 

The  brethren  of  Joseph  were  certainly  blameworthy 
in  this  aff'air,  and  that  in  a  very  high  degree ;  for,  al- 
though God  in  accomphshing  his  purposes,  often  uses 
the  agency  of  the  wicked,  yet  neither  his  purposes, 
nor  the  methods  which  he  takes  to  carry  them  into 
effect,  afford  the  shadow  of  excuse  for  human  guilt. 
In  the  case  now  under  consideration,  it  was  the  duty 
of  these  cruel  brethren  of  Joseph  to  love  him  and  treat 
him  with  fraternal  kindness.  The  law  on  this  point 
was  plain,  and  plainly  revealed.  They  knew  not  the 
decrees  of  God;  those  unrevealed  determinations  of 
the  Creator  were  no  rule  of  duty  to  them.  In  doing 
as  they  did,  they  acted  freely,  voluntarily,  and  with- 
out any  other  constraint  than  that  which  the  strong 
bias  of  their  own  evil  hearts  exerted  in  producing 
their  wicked  deeds.  They  were,  therefore,  accounta- 
ble, and  punishable,  for  the  wrong  which  they  did, 
although  God  overruled  their  conduct  and  made  it 
subserve,  extensively,  his  own  glory  and  the  good  of 
his  kingdom.  This  principle  is  true  and  applicable, 
13* 


150  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

universally.  The  divine  decrees  coerce  no  man  in  an 
evil  course.  Their  fulfilment  may  be  counted  upon 
as  absolutely  certain;  yet  the  movements  of  Provi- 
dence, in  accomplishing  the  good  pleasure  of  his  will, 
where  intelligent  creatures  are  concerned,  are  so  wise- 
ly and  justly  adapted  to  their  intellectual  and  respon- 
sible character,  as  to  leave  the  sinner  inexcusable  and 
consciously  answerable  for  all  his  evil  thoughts,  pur- 
poses and  acts. 

In  following  Joseph,  rapidly,  to  the  consummation 
of  his  wretchedness,  in  prison,  where  this  lecture  will 
terminate,  it  may  be  proper  to  notice  some  things  that 
served  as  provocatives  to  the  unkind  and  cruel  treat- 
ment which  he  received  from  his  brethren. 

The  father's  partiality  is  the  first  that  occurs,  in  the 
sacred  narrative.  Joseph  was  his  favourite;  as  was 
indicated  by  the  fine  coat  of  many  colours.  The  rea- 
son assigned  for  this  preference,  viz.  "  that  he  was  the 
son  of  his  old  age,"  one  feels  inclined,  at  first  glance, 
to  admit  as  natural,  and  of  some  weight.  But  it  is  not 
valid;  though  quite  common,  in  similar  cases.  The 
children  of  a  family,  like  citizens  of  the  state,  have 
equal  rights,  so  long  as  they  are  dutiful  and  obedient. 
Even  after  they  have  gone  out  from  under  the  pa- 
rental wing,  they  have  still  equal  claims  upon  the 
parent's  tender  regards,  though  they  may  not  be  pre- 
cisely alike  deserving.  A  profligate  child  should  be 
pursued  by  the  advice,  the  entreaties,  and  the  prayers 
of  his  parents,  while  life  lasts;  for  who  knows  but 
regenerating  grace  may  be  granted  in  answer  to  the 
prayer  of  faith?  If  it  be  said,  and  it  may  be  said 
with  some  truth,  that,  owing  to  our  frailty,  we  cannot 
always  regulate  and  control  our  affections  according 
to  our  judgment  of  equity  and  fitness,  we  would  only 
remark  here,  that  parents  certainly  may  and  ought  to 
do  justly  towards  their  children,  if  they  cannot  be- 
stow on  each  one  an  equal  share  of  affection.  They 
may  avoid  giving  tokens  of  their  partial  fondness, 
which  never  fail  to  produce  envy  on  the  one  hand, 
and  self-complacency  on  the  other.  The  larger  the 
family,  the  greater  need  there  is  of  care  in  this  matter. 


LECTURES    ON    BII3LICAL    HISTORY.  151 

Here  Jacob  erred;  and  his  error, no  doubt, contributed 
to  liis  own  sorrow,  as  well  as  to  the  depression,  for  a 
time,  of  his  favourite  son:  "When  his  brethren  saw 
that  their  father  loved  him  more  than  all  his  brethren, 
they  hated  him,  and  could  not  speak  peaceably  unto 
him.'^ 

Joseph's  own  conduct,  though  in  general  remarka- 
bly correct  and  amiable,  may,  in  one  or  two  instances, 
have  given  some  occasion  against  him.  He  reported 
to  his  father  the  ill  conduct  of  the  sons  of  Bilhah  and 
Zilpah,  while  engaged  with  them  in  feeding  the  flock. 
For  this  he  has  been  stigmatized  as  a  "  busy  body  and 
a  talebearer."  It  is  possible  he  may  have  been  in- 
discreet and  too  officious  in  this  way,  for  he  was 
young  and  open  hearted;  yet  we  can  discover  nothing 
really  censurable  in  his  conduct  in  this  respect.  Chil- 
dren should  not  conceal  one  another's  faults  from 
their  parents.  Talebearing  is  wrong;  it  is  mean,  it 
is  malevolent.  But  the  purest  benevolence,  the  most 
perfect  kindness  may  prompt  one  to  give  i^iformation 
concerning  the  faults  of  a  brother  or  sister,  with  a 
view  to  bring  parental  authority  and  influence  into 
exercise  for  the  correction  and  benefit  of  the  ofl'ender. 
Were  this  principle  allowed  to  operate  in  families, 
schools  and  colleges,  the  maintenance  of  good  order 
and  comfort  in  those  little  communities  would  be  com- 
paratively easy.  It  is  next  to  impossible  to  support 
wholesome  discipline  in  any  society,  where  the  mem- 
bers, substituting  the  whim  of  honour  instead  of  the 
law  of  duty,  hold  themselves  bound  to  conceal  each 
other's  faults. 

Joseph's  dreams  tended  also,  in  no  small  degree,  to 
stir  up  the  envy  and  malice  that  lurked  in  the  hearts 
of  his  degenerate  brothers.  "  Tliey  hated  him  yet  the 
more,  for  his  dreams  and  for  his  words."  These 
dreams  being  prophetical,  as  the  event  demonstrated, 
the  only  error  that  Joseph  seems  to  have  been  fairly 
chargeable  with,  in  relation  to  them,  was  his  telling 
them  to  his  brethren.  The  interpretation  of  them 
was  so  easy,  so  much  in  his  favour,  and  against  their 
haughtiness,  he  miglit  have  been  sure,  on  a  little  re- 


152  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

flection,  that  the  less  he  said  about  them,  the  better. 
There  may  have  been  something,  too,  in  his  manner 
of  narrating  them,  which  indicated  a  vainglorious, 
self-exalting  spirit ;  yet  it  were  more  charitable,  and 
quite  as  natural,  to  impute  his  conduct  on  the  occa- 
sion to  juvenile  ardour  and  unsuspecting  simplicity. 
Dreams,  it  is  well  known,  was  one  of  tiie  modes  in 
which  God  revealed  his  will  to  his  servants,  on  some 
special  occasions.  The  design,  in  this  instance,  seems 
to  have  been  to  support  Joseph  under  the  sore  tribu- 
lation which  awaited  him,  anterior  to  his  promised 
eminence.  Now-a-days,  the  Bible  being  given  to  us, 
as  a  perfect  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  dreams,  visions, 
and  strong  impressions  are  not  generally  to  be  relied 
on;  yet  we  would  not  altogether  despise  or  neglect 
them.  Useful  hints  may  be  taken  from  them.  In  so 
far  as  they  tend  to  make  us  careful  to  regulate  our 
tempers  and  conduct,  agreeably  to  the  written  word, 
they  are  beneficial ;  but  to  be  greatly  depressed  or 
elated  by  them — especially  to  pay  more  regard  to 
these  vague  and  dubious  prognostications  than  to  the 
precepts,  promises  and  threatenings  of  holy  Scripture, 
is  ridiculous,  fanatical,  ivicked. 

The  conspiracy  of  Joseph's  brethren,  not  only 
against  his  honour  and  happiness,  but  his  life,  was 
defeated  by  Providence  in  a  very  remarkable  manner. 
Visiting  them  at  Dothan  (whither  they  had  removed 
with  their  flocks  for  sake  of  good  pasturage,)  with 
the  kindest  intentions,  and  in  obedience  to  his  fa- 
ther's command,  instead  of  greeting  him  as  a  brother, 
"they  say  one  to  another,  behold,  this  dreamer  cometh: 
come,  let  us  slay  him,  and  we  shall  see  what  will  be- 
come of  his  dreams;  let  us  cast  him  into  some  pit, 
and  we  will  say,  some  evil  beast  hath  devoured  him!" 
This  nefarious  project  needs  no  comment.  It  tells,  in 
the  simple  language  of  inspiration,  a  tale  of  human 
depravity,  at  which  the  benevolent  heart  sickens  and 
is  humbled.  But  the  divine  purpose  was,  that  Joseph 
should  yet  live,  and  go  down  into  Egypt.  Reuben  is, 
therefore,  moved,  by  what  motive  it  is  diificult  to  say, 
for  he  was  by  no  means  amiable,  to  propose  casting 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  153 

him,  alive,  into  the  pit,  intending  to  release  him,  pri- 
vately, and  restore  him  to  his  father.  The  proposi- 
tion was  agreed  to:  and  they,  accordingly,  strip  the 
unoffending  youth  of  his  many-coloured  coat,  place 
him  in  the  pit,  and  sit  down  to  eat  bread,  when  a 
company  of  Midianitish  traders  appear,  and  Judah, 
probably  from  a  principle  of  avarice,  suggests  the 
idea  of  selling  him;  which  being  readily  assented  to, 
they  draw  the  victim  of  their  shameful  hatred  out  of 
the  pit,  and  sell  him  for  the  'paltry  consideration  of 
twenty  pieces  of  silver;  the  same  sum  though  nomi- 
nally different,  as  is  supposed  by  able  critics,  for  which 
Judas  Iscariot  betrayed  his  Lord  and  Master. 

How  vain  are  the  devices  of  men,  when  opposed 
to  the  counsels  of  Jehovah!  These  crafty  conspira- 
tors fancied  that  they  had  ruined  Joseph's  hopes  of 
distinction  and  falsified  his  prophetical  dreams,  while 
they  were  in  fact,  executing  the  designs  of  Provi- 
dence, by  sending  him  into  Egypt  to  save  life.  Thus 
the  Lord  makes  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him. 
The  wicked  do  not  aim  at  the  fulfilment  of  the  divine 
purposes;  they  are  actuated  by  selfish,  sinister  and 
impure  motives;  their  agency,  therefore,  entitles  them 
to  no  praise:  nay,  acting  voluntarily,  in  pursuit  of 
their  own  unwarranted  ends,  they  are  always  blame- 
worthy and  justly  punishable.  God  never  required, 
nor  inclined,  by  a  direct  influence,  Joseph's  brethren 
to  sell  him  into  Egypt.  Their  assistance  was  neither 
demanded  nor  needed;  but  being  volunteered,  it  was 
used  and  made  subservient  to  a  great  and  good  end, 
while,  on  their  own  souls,  it  brought  an  awful  weight 
of  guilt  and  wretchedness. 

We  shall  not  stay  to  animadvert  on  the  shameful 
deception,  which  these  men  of  wickedness  practised  on 
their  venerable  father,  except  to  remark,  that  crimes 
have  a  strong  and  almost  irresistible  affinity  for  one 
another.  One  sin  leads  to  another,  and  that  other  to  a 
third,  and  so  on,  with  augmented  force,  till,  without  the 
interposition  of  redeeming  grace,  the  sinner  becomes 
the  bondman  of  Satan,  and  is  led  captive  by  him  at 
his  will.     0  youth,  ye  who  are  beginning  to  forget 


154  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

the  covenant  of  your  God,  and  entering  on  the  paths 
of  the  destroyer,  "Turn  ye,  turn  ye;  for  why  will  ye 
die!"  Joseph's  brethren  began  with  envy  and  the 
use  of  reproachful  language,  and  finished  their  shock- 
ing climax  of  evil  deeds  by  intentional  fratricide  and 
deliberate  falsehood,  which,  but  for  the  kind  provi- 
dence and  grace  of  God,  would  have  broken  the  heart 
of  their  father. 

The  Midianitish  merchants  conveyed  Joseph  to 
Egypt,  with  their  other  articles  of  traffic,  and  there 
sold  him  to  Potiphar,  a  principal  officer  in  the  king's 
army.  How  mysterious  are  the  ways  of  Providence  I 
Here  is  a  lovely  youth,  of  undoubted  piety  and  high 
promise,  the  stay  and  hope  of  an  aged  father,  not 
only,  but  of  a  large  family,  betrayed  into  the  hands 
of  mercenary  strangers,  dragged  away  to  a  foreign 
land,  and  there  doomed  to  servitude!  But  let  us 
judge  nothing  before  the  time.  The  Lord's  way  is 
often  in  the  deep;  but  justice  and  judgment  are  the 
habitation  of  his  throne.  Joseph  is  cast  down,  but 
not  forsaken.  He  who  had  been  a  faithful  son,  was 
enabled,  by  divine  grace,  to  acquit  himself  in  the 
humble  capacity  of  a  servant,  with  so  much  integrity 
and  diligence,  as  soon  to  secure  the  entire  confidence 
of  his  master.  Potiphar,  finding  his  account  in  the 
humble  services  of  one  so  faithful  to  his  interests, 
raised  him  to  the  office  of  steward  of  his  house,  and 
superintendant  of  all  his  domestics  and  domestic  af- 
fairs. 

See  here  the  happy  influence  of  religious  principle. 
God  was  with  Joseph,  and  made  all  that  he  did  to 
prosper.  An  approving  conscience,  a  good  character, 
and  a  divine  blessing,  will  make  one  useful  and  con- 
tented in  any  situation.  Let  servants  and  others,  who 
occupy  the  lowly  stations  in  society,  remember  this, 
and  they  will  find  little  occasion  to  envy  those  of  their 
fellow  mortals,  who  move  in  the  higher  and  more 
showy  walks  of  human  life.  An  honest,  industrious, 
and  trust-worthy  servant  will  not  go  long  unnoticed 
or  unrewarded.  ''Let  every  man,"  says  Paul,  "abide 
in  the  same  calUng  wherein  he  was  called.     Art  thou 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  155 

called,  being  a  servant?  care  not  for  it;  but  if  thou 
mayest  be  made  free,  use  it  rather:  for  he  that  is 
called  in  the  Lord,  being  a  servant,  is  the  Lord's  free 
man:  likewise,  also,  he  that  is  called,  being  free,  is 
Christ's  servant."  And  let  masters  learn  from  this 
part  of  Joseph's  history,  to  prefer  pious  servants. 
"  The  Lord  blessed  the  house  of  the  Egyptian  for 
Joseph's  sake."  Godly  servants  are  a  blessing  in 
any  family;  and  such  should  always  be  treated  with 
kindness  and  generosity.  The  more  of  genuine  reli- 
gion they  possess,  the  more  faithful  they  will  be  in 
the  performance  of  their  duty,  and  the  more  assidu- 
ously will  they  endeavour  to  promote  the  interests 
and  happiness  of  their  employers.  Let  such  never  be 
oppressed  with  too  much  hard  labour;  let  them  never 
be  neglected  in  sickness  or  in  old  age;  and, above  all, 
let  them  never  be  deprived  of  the  rest  and  religious 
privileges  of  the  Lord's  day. 

The  occurrence,  which,  while  it  illustrated  the  ster- 
ling excellence  of  Joseph's  moral  character,  even- 
tuated in  his  imprisonment,  is  related  by  the  sacred 
historian  in  few  words,  and  with  artless  simplicity. 
His  "goodly  and  well-favoured  person"  excited  one 
of  the  hasest  passions  in  his  shameless  mistress,  who 
tempted  him  to  sin  with  her  in  a  way  that  shall  not  be 
named.  But,  behold,  how  good  and  necessary  it  is  to 
have  the  heart  well  fortified  by  the  fear  of  God  and 
the  love  of  virtue!  The  temptation,  though  present- 
ed in  circumstances  singularly  embarrassing,  was  re- 
sisted, in  a  spirit  of  fidelity  to  his  master  and  of  piety 
to  God,  to  which  no  language  of  mine  can  do  justice: 
^'  But  he  refused,  and  said  unto  his  master's  wife, 
Behold,  my  master  wotteth  not  what  is  with  me  in 
the  house,  and  he  hath  committed  all  that  he  hath  to 
my  hand;  there  is  none  greater  in  this  house  than  L* 
neither  hath  he  kept  back  any  thing  from  me  but 
thee,  because  thou  art  his  wife:  how  then  can  I  do 
this  gi^eat  ivickedness,  and  sin  against  God?^^  Mark 
here  the  genuine  principle  of  obedience  to  the  divine 
commands,  and  the  grand  reason  why  no  sin  may  be 
indulged:  It  is  against  God!     Yes,  however  much 


156  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

wickedness  may  injure  ourselves  or  our  neighbours, 
it  is  ultimately  and  mainly  against  God.  It  is  so, 
whether  practised  openly  or  secretly:  it  is  so,  even 
when  it  comes  not  into  action,  if  it  be  cherished  in 
our  hearts.  0  that  the  devisers  of  mischief  and  the 
workers  of  iniquity  would  consider  that  "  the  dark- 
ness and  the  light  are  both  alike  to  him  with  whom 
we  have  to  do! 

But  Joseph's  base  tempter,  in  the  affair  just  alluded 
to,  disappointed  and  chagrined,  on  finding  his  virtue 
proof  against  the  violent  assault  which  she  had  made 
upon  it,  resolves  that  if  he  will  not  sin  with  her,  he 
shall  feel  her  vengeance.  Accordingly,  having  con- 
trived her  story  with  great  ingenuity,  and  given  to  it 
an  air  of  plausibility,  she  takes  the  earliest  opportu- 
nity of  preferring  her  complaint  against  the  hapless 
Hebrew  servant.  The  project  succeeds.  The  credu- 
lous husband  believes  the  specious  tale;  his  wrath  is 
kindled  against  Joseph;  and,  without  allowing  the 
accused  a  hearing,  "he  took  him  and  put  him  into 
the  prison,  a  place  where  the  king's  prisoners  were 
bound ;  and  he  was  there  in  the  prison  ;"  where,  for 
the  present,  we  must  leave  him,  after  barely  adding, 
in  the  words  of  Scripture,  by  way  of  relief  to  the 
painful  sympathies,  which  have  followed  him  thither, 
that,  "the  Lord  was  with  Joseph,  and  showed  him 
mercy,  and  gave  him  favour  in  the  sight  of  the  keep- 
er of  the  prison." 


LECTURE  XVII. 

JOSEPH'S  ELEVATION  AT  THE  COURT  OF  EGYPT. 

And  the  Lord  was  with  Joseph,  and  he  was  a  prosperous  man. 
Gen.  xxxix.  2. 

This  passage  of  Scripture  exhibits  Joseph  in  circum- 
stances very  different  from  those  in  which  we  left 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  157 

him,  at  the  close  of  our  last  lecture.  There  we  saw 
him  immured  in  prison,  and  suffering,  in  his  good 
name,  under  the  foul  aspersion  of  a  worthless  woman  ; 
here  we  hehold  him  clad  in  tlie  habiliments  of  honour, 
occupying  the  second  station  in  the  kingdom  of  Egypt 
— the  temporal  saviour  of  the  Egyptians — the  mag- 
nanimous friend  and  bounteous  patron  of  his  father's 
house.  What  hath  God  wrought!  While  we  are 
delighted  with  the  brightening  prospects  and  growing 
influence  of  this  good  man,  let  us  not  forget  the  hand 
that  is  raising  him  up,  to  save  life,  and  to  prepare  an 
asylum  for  the  church,  in  a  season  of  weakness,  and 
exposure  to  the  perils  of  idolatry  and  famine. 

In  noticing,  briefly,  the  steps  by  which  Joseph  ad- 
vanced from  bondage  and  imprisonment  to  the  chair 
of  state,  we  shall  have  frequent  occasion  to  mark  the 
excellence  of  true  religion;  and  to  admire  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  which  so  often  brings  extensive  good 
out  of  partial  evil,  and  makes  all  things  work  together 
for  his  own  glory,  and  the  happiness  of  his  people. 

The  young  Hebrew  had  been  distinguished  for  his 
diligence  and  fidelity,  in  the  house  of  Potiphar;  and, 
when  put  in  ward  with  the  king's  prisoners,  the  Lord 
gave  him  favour,  in  the  eyes  of  the  keeper  of  the  pri- 
son, so  that,  in  a  short  time,  he  was  made,  in  some 
sort,  deputy-jailor,  having  the  charge  and  oversight 
of  his  fellow  prisoners.  This  was  an  alleviating  cir- 
cumstance ;  and  it  doubtless  gave  him  more  comforts 
and  advantages  than  he  could  have  anticipated,  in  that 
situation.  Thus,  in  the  most  unpromising  condition 
in  human  life,  God  can  make  us  useful,  and  cause  our 
enemies  to  be  at  peace  with  us.  "  The  Lord  will 
give  grace  and  glory  to  them  that  walk  uprightly; 
and  he  who  trusteth  in  him,  at  all  times,  shall  not 
lack  any  good  thing." 

One  of  Joseph's  extraordinary  endowments  was  liis 
divine  skill  in  interpreting  dreams.  We  call  this  a 
divine  skill,  or  extraordinary  endowment,  because 
it  was  manifestly  from  God.  Prophetical  dreams 
were  sometimes  had  by  persons  of  doubtful,  or  even 
bad  character;  but  the  gift  of  interpreting  them  was 
14 


158  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORr. 

a  species  of  inspiration,  and  was  conferred  on  those 
only,  whom  Jehovah  delighted  to  honour,  in  the  ac- 
complishment of  his  own  great  and  holy  purposes. 
The  exercise  of  this  gift,  was  made  a  means,  in  the 
wonder  working  hand  of  Providence,  of  Joseph's  re- 
lease from  imprisonment,  and  of  his  elevation  to  the 
confidence  and  esteem  of  Pharaoh  and  his  counsellors. 

It  happened  that  two  of  the  king's  domestic  ser- 
vants, the  chief  of  the  butlers  and  the  chief  of  the 
bakers,  for  some  misdemeanor,  were  thrown  into 
prison,  with  Joseph,  and,  by  the  captain  of  the  guard, 
committed  to  his  special  care.  These  men  had,  each 
a  dream,  in  the  same  night,  which  gave  them  great 
uneasiness,  as  being,  in  their  apprehension,  ominous 
of  their  approaching  fate.  On  observing  the  sadness 
of  their  countenances,  he  kindly  inquires  into  the 
cause,  and  offers  to  perform  for  them,  the  office  of 
interpreter;  remindhig  them,  at  the  same  time,  that 
"  interpretations  belong  to  God."  The  dreams  are 
related  with  great  exactness,  and  interpreted  with 
equal  precision.  The  butler's  three  branches  of  the 
vine  denote  three  days,  and  the  baker's  three  baskets 
of  meats,  the  same  period,  within  which  time,  the 
former  was  to  be  restored  to  his  office,  and  the  latter 
put  to  death.  The  event  verified  the  accuracy  of  the 
interpretation:  For  "it  came  to  pass  the  third  day, 
which  was  Pharaoh's  birth-day,  that  he  made  a  feast 
unto  all  his  servants; — and  he  restored  the  chief  but- 
ler unto  his  butlership  again,  and  he  gave  the  cup 
into  Pharaoh's  hand;  but  he  hanged  the  chief  baker, 
as  Joseph  had  interpreted  to  them." 

Joseph,  though  far  from  being  disposed  to  murmur 
against  God,  under  his  heavy  affliction,  nevertheless 
felt  it  sensibly,  and  desired,  earnestly,  to  be  released 
from  his  unjust  imprisonment,  so  soon  as  this  could 
be  effected  by  fair  and  honourable  means.  He  had 
been  kind  and  attentive  to  the  butler,  while  he  was 
his  fellow-sufferer;  and,  having  just  relieved  him  from 
anxious  solicitude,  by  announcing  his  speedy  restora- 
tion to  liberty  and  favour  with  the  king,  his  master, 
he  very  naturally  expected  a  grateful  return.     He, 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  159 

therefore  entreated  the  butler  not  to  forget  him;  but 
to  use  any  influence  which  he  might  have,  at  court, 
to  procure  his  discharge  from  an  unjust  and  cruel  im- 
prisonment, which  must  have  been,  already,  of  seve- 
ral years'  continuance.  His  appeal,  on  this  interesting 
occasion,  is  couched  in  terms,  which,  for  their  delicacy 
and  heart-touching  power,  cannot  be  surpassed  by 
human  language.  Not  a  syllable  is  uttered  against 
his  cruel  brethren,  his  despotic  master,  or  unprinci- 
pled mistress:  "But  think  on  me,  when  it  shall  be 
well  with  thee,  and  show  kindness,  I  pray  thee,  unto 
me;  and  make  mention  of  me  unto  Pharaoh,  and 
bring  me  out  of  this  house :  for,  indeed,  I  was  stolen 
away  out  of  the  land  of  the  Hebrews;  and,  here,  also 
have  I  done  nothing  that  they  should  put  me  into  the 
dungeon." 

One  would  suppose  that  such  a  request,  made  in 
such  impressive  circumstances,  could  not  be  forgotten. 
But,  alas,  the  human   heart  is  naturally  selfish,  de- 
ceitful,  and   unthankful.     This   much   obliged   cup- 
bearer,  like   a   thoroughpaced   courtier,  when   once 
raised  to  place  and  power  himself,  lost  his  sympathies 
for  the  interpreter  of  his  dream — the  friend,  who  had 
ministered  to  his  comfort,  in  the  time  of  his  adversity: 
"  Yet  did  not  the  chief  butler  remember  Joseph,  but 
forgat  him."     Let  us  take  occasion,  from  this  instance 
of  ingratitude,  to  charge  ourselves  never  to  grow  ne- 
glectful of  our  old  friends;  especially,  of  those  who 
may  have  assisted  us,  by  their  advice,  their  influence, 
or  their  charities,  in  seasons  of  distress:  and,  above 
all,  let  us  never  forget  our  heavenly  Benefactor,  whose 
goodness  has  attended  us,  in  every  trial,  and  whose 
tender  mercies  are   continually  over  us.     Ah!  how 
many  sick-bed  resolutions,  and  solemn  purposes  of 
amendment  formed  in  alfliction,  are  broken  and  ob- 
literated from  our  minds,  on  the  return  of  health  and 
prosperity !     We  feel,  and    often   repine,  under   the 
hand  of  God,  when  employed  in  chastising  us;  but 
we  are  exceedingly  prone  to  disregard  it,  when  load- 
ing us  with  its  bounties.     Of  the  ten  lepers,  that  Christ 
cleansed,  on  a  certain  occasion,  one  only  retained,  and 


160  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

manifested  a  sense  of  obligation  to  the  gracious  de- 
liverer: "There  are  not  found  that  returned  to  give 
glory  to  God,  save  this  stranger." 

But  should  father  and  mother,  lover  and  friend, 
forsake  us  in  times  of  trouble,  the  divine  promise  is 
sure  and  steadfast;  "  I  will  never  leave  thee,  nor  for- 
sake thee."  "  He  that  trusteth  in  God,  shall  be  as 
mount  Zion:" — equally  secure  and  immoveable,  un- 
der the  patronage  of  almighty  power,  and  unchanging 
love. 

The  Hebrew  captive  had  waited  long  and  patiently, 
on  the  Rock  of  his  salvation  ;  and  now  the  set  time 
for  his  deliverance  was  at  hand.  "  At  the  end  of  two 
full  years,"  from  the  time  of  the  chief  butler's  release, 
Jehovah,  "in  a  dream,  in  a  vision  of  the  night,  when 
deep  sleep  falleth  upon  men,  in  slumberings  upon  the 
bed,"  "spake  once,  yea,  twice"  unto  Pharaoh  the 
king,  to  give  him  a.  merciful  intimation  of  a  fearful 
calamity,  which  was  about  to  come  upon  Egypt  and 
the  neighbouring  nations.  The  scene  of  this  vision  is 
laid  "  by  the  river  side,  i.  e.  on  the  margin  of  the  river 
Nile,  on  the  annual  overflowing  of  which,  depended 
the  fertihty  of  the  land  in  Egypt.  By  the  kine  which 
were  seen,  in  one  of  the  dreams,  are,  no  doubt,  meant 
the  hippopotamus,  or  river  horse,  which  inhabited  the 
Nile,  and,  being  an  amphibious  animal,  came  out, 
occasionally,  to  browse  on  the  river's  brink.  The 
ears  of  corn,  which  constituted  the  matter  of  the  other 
dream,  were  perfectly  natural  and  expressive  of  the 
thing  intended.  The  vision  was  repeated,  to  show 
the  certainty  and  importance  of  the  event,  which  it 
announced.  Pharaoh's  spirit  was  troubled  with  these 
visions  of  the  night ;  but  none  of  his  magicians,  or 
reputed  wise  men  could  guess  out  a  satisfactory  solu- 
tion of  their  import.  Then  was  the  ungrateful  butler 
put  in  mind  of  the  long  neglected  "young  man,  an 
Hebrew,  servant  to  the  captain  of  the  guard;"  with 
whom  he  had  once  been  a  fellow-prisoner,  and  from 
whom  he  had  received  repeated  proofs  of  superior  wis- 
dom and  kindness  :  "  Then  spake  the  chief  butler  unto 
Pharaoh,  saying,  I  do  remember  my  faults  this  day." 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  161 

An  awakening  sense  of  onr  sins,  even  at  a  late 
period,  is  better  than  continued  insensibility,  which  is 
always  attended  by  a  neglect  of  duty:  But  a  stupid, 
slumbering  conscience,  is  a  dangerons,  though  an  in- 
offensive companion.  It  were  better  to  have  it  thor- 
oughly aroused ;  even  if  that  should  cost  us  strong 
crying  and  tears,  with  the  loss  of  our  dearest  earthly 
comforts.  JMany  a  poor  sinner  has  recollected  his 
faults,  on  a  death-bed,  with  very  little  evidence  of 
genuine  repentance,  or  hope  of  pardoning  mercy. 
Consider  this,  betimes,  ye  that  forget  God,  and  ne- 
glect, in  the  day  of  your  merciful  visitation,  the  things 
tliat  belong  to  your  eternal  peace. 

Pharaoh  the  king,  on  hearing  of  Joseph's  skill,  in 
interpreting  dreams,  as  it  had  been  exhibited  in  the 
case  of  the  cupbearer  and  the  baker,  ordered  him  to 
be  brought  out  of  the  dungeon,  without  delay.  The 
order  is  promptly  obeyed:  ''He  shaved  himself,  and 
changed  his  raiment,  and  came  in  unto  Pharaoh.'' 
His  conduct,  on  this  occasion,  was  dignified,  respect- 
ful, and  altogether  admirable.  In  reply  to  the  obser- 
vation, "  I  have  heard  say  of  thee,  that  thou  canst 
understand  a  dream,  to  interpret  it,"  he  explicitly  as- 
cribes his  gift  in  this  respect,  to  the  source  of  all  good ; 
"  It  is  not  in  me:  God  shall  give  Pharaoh  an  answer 
of  peace."  The  dreams  are  then  related,  and  an  in- 
terpretation is  given,  substantially,  as  follows: — the 
two  visions,  with  the  two  sets  of  symbols,  are  of 
one  and  the  same  import;  and  are  designed  to  show 
Pharaoh  what  God  is  about  to  do.  The  seven  well- 
favoured  kine,  and  the  seven  full  ears  of  corn  are,  or 
denote  seven  years  of  plenty;  and  the  like  number  of 
ill-favoured  kine,  and  blasted  ears  signify  seven  years 
of  scarcity; — "What  God  is  about  to  do  he  showeth 
inito  Pharaoh.  Behold  there  come  seven  years  of 
great  plenty  throughout  all  the  land  of  Egypt:  and 
there  shall  arise,  after  them,  seven  years  of  {amine — 
and  the  plenty  shall  not  be  known,  in  the  land,  by 
reason  of  that  famine  following;  for  it  shall  be  very 
grievous."  In  the  full  persuasion  of  the  correctness  of 
this  interpretation,  Joseph  subjoins  to  it  his  advice; 
14* 


162  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

— that  suitable  measures  should  be  taken  to  provide 
for  the  impending  dearth;  that  the  best  course  that 
could  be  pursued  to  secure  this  most  desirable  object, 
would  be  to  gather  the  surplus  produce  of  the  inter- 
vening years  of  plenty  into  public  granaries  under  the 
control  of  the  government,  and  to  appoint  proper  offi- 
cers, with  a  discreet  superintendent  over  them,  to 
attend  to  this  business,  throughout  the  whole  land. 
*'  And  the  thing  was  good  in  the  eyes  of  Pharaoh,  and 
in  the  eyes  of  all  his  servants.  And  Pharaoh  said 
unto  his  servants,  Can  we  find  such  a  one  as  this — a 
man  in  whom  the  Spirit  of  God  is?  And  Pharaoh 
said  unto  Joseph,  Forasmuch  as  God  hath  showed 
thee  all  this,  there  is  none  so  discreet  and  wise  as 
thou  art.  Thou  shalt  be  over  my  house,  and  accord- 
ing to  thy  word  shall  all  my  people  be  ruled:  only  in 
the  throne  will  I  be  greater  than  thou: — See,  I  have 
set  thee  over  all  the  land  of  Egypt.  And  Pharaoh 
look  off  his  ring  from  his  hand,  and  put  it  upon  Jo- 
seph's hand,  and  arrayed  him  in  vestures  of  fine  linen, 
and  put  a  gold  chain  about  his  neck:  and  he  made 
him  to  ride  in  the  second  chariot  which  he  had ;  and 
they  cried  before  him,  Bow  the  knee." 

Here  the  design  of  Providence,  in  relation  to  the 
man  whose  tragical  sufferings  excite  our  sympathies, 
and  whose  patient  meekness,  under  them,  commands 
our  admiration,  begins  to  be  unfolded.  Joseph  was 
destined  to  render  an  important  service  to  the  church 
of  God,  then  in  his  fatlier's  family;  and,  in  rendering 
that  service,  he  was  to  fill  a  station  of  perilous  distinc- 
tion; and,  that  he  might  be  prepared  to  occupy  that 
station,  without  detriment  to  his  moral  and  religious 
character,  it  was  needful  that  he  should  be  long  and 
severely  disciplined  in  the  school  of  affliction. 

We  tremble  to  see  Joseph  passing,  so  suddenly, 
from  the  extreme  of  poverty  and  wretchedness,  to 
that  of  afiluence  and  courtly  grandeur;  because  hu- 
man nature  is,  in  its  best  estate,  frail;  and  worldly 
distinction  is  a  severe  trial  to  virtue.  But  the  same 
all-sufiicient  grace  that  sustained  him  under  the  pres- 
sure of  sorrow  and  weakness,  enabled  him  "to  do 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  163 

justly,  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  his 
God,"  in  his  new  and  elevated  station.  The  expe- 
rience of  the  last  thirteen  years,  spent  in  bondage  and 
in  prison  had  taught  him  the  folly  of  trusting  to  an 
arm  of  flesh,  and  the  blessedness  of  a  good  conscience 
and  a  firm  trust  in  the  living  God.  Let  all  wiio  sow 
in  tears,  stay  themselves  on  the  mighty  One  of  Israel, 
and,  when  the  proper  season  arrives,  they  shall  reap 
in  joy. 

Soon  after  Joseph's  inauijuration,  as  prime  minister 
of  state,  he  received  an  Egyptian  name,  Zaphnath- 
paaneah,  i.  e.  Revealer  of  secrets,  in  allusion  to  his 
supernatural  talent  in  the  interpretation  of  dreams. 
He  was  also  married  to  an  Egyptian  princess,  Ase- 
nath,  daughter  of  the  Priest,  or  Prince  of  On,  or  city 
of  the  Sun.  Joseph  has  been  censured  for  marrying 
into  an  idolatrous  family.  We  feel  under  no  obliga- 
tion to  vindicate  all  his  acts;  for  he  was  fallible.  But, 
as  he  was,  now,  in  a  country  of  idolaters,  into  which 
he  had  been  sent  by  divine  providence — as  his  matri- 
monial connexion  resulted  in  the  birth  of  two  sons, 
at'terwards  distinguished  among  the  heads  of  the  tribes 
of  Israel — as  he  gave  names  to  these  sons,  commemo- 
rative of  God's  goodness  to  him,  in  all  his  troubles, 
and,  especially,  as  no  blame  is  attached  to  him  in 
Scripture,  for  this  act,  we  are  disposed,  in  the  spirit  of 
that  charity  which  "  thinketh  no  evil,"  not  to  judge 
him  rashly.  Had  we  a  knowledge  of  all  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case,  we  should,  probably,  be  satisfied, 
that,  in  this,  as  in  other  important  events  of  his  life, 
the  Lord  directed  his  steps.  His  situation  was  pecu- 
liar, and  the  services  which  he  had  to  perform  in 
church  and  state,  were,  altogether,  extraordinary;  it 
would,  therefore,  be  unfair  to  infer,  from  his  example, 
the  lawfulness  or  expediency  of  Christians  intermarry- 
ing with  professed  unbelievers.  Such  heterogeneous 
alliances  are  unequivocally  discountenanced,  in  the 
New  Testament.  Unity  of  spirit  is  all-important  to 
the  vigorous  action  of  the  bond  of  peace. 

Our  limits  will  scarcely  allow  us  to  remark  oi]  the 
policy  which  Joseph  pursued,  during  the  first  fourteen 


164  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

years  of  his  government.  It  has  been  called  in  ques- 
tion, by  those  who  are  seldom  suited  with  any  thing,, 
which  they  find  in  the  Bible.  He  is  charged  with 
making  the  king  a  tyrant;  and  the  body  of  the  peo- 
ple mere  vassals,  dependent  on  the  monarch  for  every 
thing;  and,  (which  is  most  unpardonable.)  it  has  been 
alleged,  that  he  favoured  the  priests,  by  not  taxing 
their  land,  or  taking  it  in  lieu  of  provisions,  furnished 
during  the  famine,  as  was  done  with  that  of  others, 
thus  making  them  a  privileged  order.  Whether  any 
thing  is  said,  in  the  narrative  of  Moses,  to  give  the 
semblance  of  a  foundation  for  such  charges  as  these, 
the  candid  reader  of  the  sacred  volume  will  judge. 
In  regard  to  the  priests,  it  may  be  observed  that,  as 
they  were  the  ministers  of  idolatrous  rites  and  cere- 
monies, Joseph,  a  worshipper  of  the  only  living  and 
true  God,  would  not  be  likely  to  symbolize  very 
closely  with  them,  or,  of  his  own  choice,  to  show 
them  any  special  favour.  But,  aside  from  this  con- 
sideration, who,  that  is  acquainted  with  the  biblical 
account  of  this  matter,  does  not  know,  that  the  immu- 
nities of  the  priesthood  were  established,  by  law,  an- 
terior to  the  commencement  of  Joseph's  administra- 
tion? "Only  the  land  of  the  priests  bought  he  not:" 
— Why  not?  "Because  the  priests  had  a  portion  as- 
signed them  of  Pharaoh,  and  did  eat  their  portion, 
which  Pharaoh  gave  them;  wherefore  they  sold  not 
their  lands."  Upon  the  whole  it  would  be  difficult 
to  mark  out  a  line  of  conduct  more  wise  or  more  hu- 
mane than  that  which  Joseph  pursued,  considering 
the  state  of  public  affairs  as  he  found  them,  and,  in 
prospect  of  the  awful  calamity  which  was  coming 
upon  the  country. 

Durmg  the  seven  years  of  plenty,  a  fifth  part  of  the 
produce  of  the  land  was  exacted  from  the  farmers, 
and  laid  up  in  public  store-houses ;  not  to  enrich  the 
king  and  his  servants,  but  to  save  life,  when  other  re- 
sources failed.  And  when  the  scarcity  commenced, 
and  the  people  began  to  be  in  want  of  bread-corn, 
it  was  measured  out  to  them,  equitably:  and,  that  a 
lazy  leaning  on  the  munificence  of  the  state  might 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  165 

not  be  encouraged,  money,  and  cattle,  and  land,  and, 
ill  some  instances,  liberty  were  accepted  for  tbis  sea- 
sonable supply  of  tbe  slatT  of  life:  yet,  these  pledges 
might  be  afterwards  redeemed;  as  no  doubt  they 
were,  in  many  cases,  by  the  deserving  and  the  indus- 
trious. 

But  we  hasten  forward  to  the  meeting  of  Joseph 
and  his  brethren.  As  this  part  of  the  sacred  story  is, 
perhaps,  more  familiarly  known  than  most  other  por- 
tions of  the  Old  Testament,  owing,  partly,  to  the 
strong  hold  which  it  takes  on  our  natural  affections, 
and,  partly,  to  the  pains  that  have  been  taken  to  illus- 
trate and  enforce  the  practical  lessons  which  it  teaches, 
it  will  be  the  less  necessary  for  us,  to  dwell  long  upon 
it.  The  famine,  announced  by  Pharoah's  dreams,  ex- 
tended beyond  the  limits  of  Egypt.  The  inhabitants 
of  Canaan  felt  its  distressing  effects,  and  the  family  of 
Jacob,  among  the  rest.  Hearing  that  provisions  were 
to  be  had  in  Egypt,  ten  of  his  sons  were  despatched 
to  procure  a  supply  for  their  respective  households, 
Benjamin  remaining  at  home,  to  assist  the  aged  fa- 
ther in  taking  care  of  the  rest.  These  ten  sons  of  Ja- 
cob having  reached  Egypt,  and  having  made  known 
their  business,  were  directed  to  Joseph,  as  were  all 
others,  who  came  on  the  like  errand.  Unconscious  of 
the  near  relation  which  existed  between  him  and 
them,  they  approach  him,  according  to  the  custom  of 
the  times,  with  every  indication  of  profound  respect, 
*' bowing  themselves  before  him  with  their  faces  to 
the  gronnd:"  thus  fulfilling  the  prediction  in  his  dream 
of  the  sheaves,  had,  upwards  of  twenty  years  before, 
and  for  which  they  hated  him.  Now  Joseph  knew 
his  brethren;  but  they  knew  not  him.  This  is  easily 
accounted  for,  from  the  difference  in  their  ages,  at  the 
time  of  their  separation,  and  from  the  effect  which  his 
courtly  dress  must  have  had  in  concealing  the  fea- 
tures, and  changing  the  personal  appearance  of  the 
shepherd's  boy.  But  why  did  not  Joseph  make  him- 
self known  at  once?  Why  charge  his  brethren  with 
being  spies,  and  treat  them,  not  only  with  reserve,  but 
with  harshness,  putting  them  all  in  ward  for  three 


166  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

days;  and  afterwards,  retaining  one  of  them  in  bonds, 
as  a  hostage;  requiring  the  other  nine,  as  a  test  of  the 
truth  of  their  statement,  to  return  to  Canaan,  a  dis- 
tance of  three  hundred  miles,  and  bring  the  young 
brother,  whom  they  had  mentioned  incidentally,  as 
being  at  home,  with  the  old  man,  their  father?  This 
course  of  conduct  seems  strange,  at  first  view.  But  it 
was  not  the  effect  of  caprice,  nor  of  the  wantonness  of 
power,  nor  of  a  revengeful  and  vindictive  spirit,  as  is 
evident,  from  his  loading  their  asses  with  corn,  and 
returning  the  money,  secretly,  which  they  had  paid  for 
it.  Neither  was  there  any  want  of  natural  feeling  on 
his  part;  for  "he  turned  himself  away  from  them,  and 
wept,"  when  Simeon  was  about  to  be  bound,  before 
their  eyes.  The  whole  of  this  apparent  sternness  was, 
manifesdy  affected;  and  the  design  was  benevolent, 
as  was  mentioned  in  our  last  lecture.  Joseph  knew 
that  these  brethren  were  guilty  men;  that  they  had 
committed  heinous  sin,  particularly  in  their  treatment 
of  him,  and  their  venerable  father,  and  he  wished  to 
bring  them  to  repentance.  Nor  was  he  disappointed; 
for  when  they  found  that  they  must  return  home, 
without  Simeon — "  They  said,  one  to  another.  We 
are  verily  guilty  concerning  our  brother,  in  that  we 
saw  the  anguish  of  his  soul  when  he  besought  us,  and 
we  would  not  hear;  therefore  is  this  distress  come 
upon  us:"  and  Reuben  adds,  "Behold,  also,  his  blood 
is  required!"  And,  again,  when  the  restored  money 
was  discovered,  in  one  of  their  sacks,  recognizing  the 
hand  of  offended  justice,  in  their  affliction,  "  their 
heart  failed  them,  and  they  were  affraid,  saying  one 
to  another,  ivhat  is  this  that  God  hath  done  unfa 
us?^^  We  have  had  no  evidence,  till  now,  of  the 
penitence,  or  piety  of  any  of  these  brothers.  Here  is 
confession  of  sin,  at  least. 

Thus  circumstanced,  the  nine  brethren  return  to 
their  home,  full  of  painful  musings,  no  doubt,  on  the 
wickedness  of  their  past  lives,  and  of  gloomy  forebod- 
ings of  what  might  yet  befall  them,  for  the  punishment 
of  their  sins.  They  reach  their  father's  tent,  and  relate 
to  him  the  sorrowful  tale:  Simeon  is  left,  in  Egypt, 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  167 

and  Benjamin  must  go  back  thither  with  us,  or  tlie 
hostage  cannot  be  redeemed.  Who  does  not  feel  for 
the  afflicted  patriarch,  while,  in  an  agony  of  parental 
sohcitude,  lie  exclaims — "  Me  have  ye  bereaved  of 
my  children:  Joseph  is  not;  and  Simeon  is  not;  and 
ye  will  take  Benjamin  away:  all  these  things  are 
against  me  !"  Yes,  the  beloved  Benjamin  must  go ;  for 
the  pressure  of  the  famine  is  sore;  and  the  governor 
of  Egypt  was  peremptory,  says  Judah,  "  Ye  shall 
not  see  my  face  except  your  brother  be  with  you." — 
"  Send  the  lad  with  me,  and  we  will  arise  and  go;  that 
we  may  live,  and  not  die,  both  we  and  thou,  and  also 
our  little  ones:  I  will  be  surety  for  him;  of  my  hand 
shalt  thou  require  him :  if  I  bring  him  not  unto  thee, 
and  set  him  before  thee,  then  let  me  bear  the  blame  for 
ever."  Then  said  their  father  Israel  unto  them,  "  If  it 
must  be  so,  now,  do  this:  Take  of  the  best  fruits  in  the 
land  in  your  vessels,  and  cary  down  the  man  a  present, 
a  little  balm,  and  a  little  honey,  spices  and  myrrh,  nuts 
and  almonds.  And  take  double  money  in  your  hand; 
(mark  the  old  man's  rigid  honesty)  and  the  money 
that  was  brought  back,  in  the  mouth  of  your  sacks, 
carry  it  again  in  your  hand;  peradventure  it  was  an 
oversight.  Take,  also,  your  brother,  and  arise;  go 
again  unto  the  man:  and  God  Almighty  give  you 
mercy  before  the  man,  that  he  may  send  away  your 
other  brother,  and  Benjamin:  If  I  be  bereaved  of  my 
children,  I  am  bereaved."  The  second  meeting  of 
these  interesting  brethren,  will  be  the  subject  of  our 
next  lecture.  In  the  mean  time,  let  us  observe,  as 
exemplified  in  the  case  of  Joseph,  how  God  makes 
all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
him.  Truly,  "  wisdom's  ways  are  ways  of  pleasant- 
ness, and  all  her  paths  are  peace." 


168  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 


LECTURE  XVIII 


JOSEPH  MAKES  HIjMSELF  KNOWN  TO  HIS  BRETHREN,  AND  SENDS 
FOR  HIS  FATHER. 

And  behold,  your  eyes  see,  and  the  eyes  of  my  brother  Benjamin, 
that  it  is  my  mouth  that  speaketh  unto  you.  And  ye  shall  tell  my 
father  of  all  my  glory  in  Egypt,  and  of  all  that  ye  have  seen  ;  and 
yc  shall  haste,  and  bring  down  my  father  hither.  And  he  fell  upon 
his  brother  Benjamin's  neck,  and  wept;  and  Benjamin  wept  upon 
his  neck.  Moreover,  he  kissed  all  his  brethren,  and  wept  upon 
them:  and  after  that  his  brethren  talked  with  him. — Gen.  xlv. 
12—15. 

Presents,  of  one  kind  or  other,  have  long  heen  con- 
sidered, among  the  Eastern  nations,  as  necessary  to 
gain  access  to  princes  and  other  persons  of  distinction. 
The  custom  is  kept  np,  at  the  present  day.  The 
agents  of  the  American  Colonization  Society,  in  their 
treaties  with  the  native  Africans  respecting  a  tract  of 
land  for  the  planting  of  a  colony  of  free  people  of 
colour,  from  this  country,  had  to  pay  their  respects, 
frequently,  in  this  way,  to  the  kings  and  head  men  of 
the  tribes,  with  which  they  had  occasion  to  confer  on 
the  business  of  their  mission.  In  conformity  to  a 
usage  which  had  obtained  all  the  force  of  a  law,  and 
which  has  continued  from  that  day  to  this,  Jacob's 
sons,  by  order  of  their  father,  prepare  a  present,  of 
such  delicacies  as  Canaan  afforded,  for  the  governor 
of  the  country,  and,  taking  their  youngest  brother  with 
them,  set  out  on  their  second  journey  to  Egypt,  in  the 
hope  of  redeeming  Simeon,  and  of  procuring  another 
supply  of  provisions  for  their  families.  In  the  concise 
and  expressive  language  of  sacred  Scriptnre :  "  the 
men  took  that  present,  and  they  took  double  money 
in  their  hand,  and  Benjamin ;  and  rose  up,  and  went 
down  to  Egypt,  and  stood  before  Joseph.'^     "  When 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  169 

Joseph  saw  Benjamin  with  them,"  he  determined  to 
entertain  tliem,  in  a  friendly  and  hospitable  manner; 
and,  accordingly,  gave  orders  to  liis  steward  to  pre- 
pare a  dinner,  suitable  to  the  occasion,  by  the  proper 
hour.  "Bring  these  men  home,  and  slay,  and  make 
ready;  for  these  men  shall  dine  with  me  at  noon." 
In  the  meantime,  affairs  of  state,  as  it  would  seem, 
demanded  his  attention.  What  important  practical 
lessons  the  Bible  every  where  teaches  us !  Here  we 
are  reminded  that,  the  civilities  of  hospitality,  and  the 
charities  of  friendship  are  not  to  be  permitted  to  in- 
terfere with  due  attendance  on  the  duties  of  our  sta- 
tion. We  should  not  hesitate,  if  the  case  require  it, 
to  say  to  friend,  or  stranger,  the  claims  of  business,  or 
the  obligations  of  a  previous  engagement  prohibit  me 
the  pleasure  of  your  company  and  conversation,  at  this 
hour.  Every  good  thing  is  beautiful,  in  its  season. 
The  right  distribution  of  our  time  is  indispensable  to 
the  despatch  of  business;  nor  are  the  claims  of  duty 
ever  to  give  place  to  those  of  mere  courtesy.  So 
faithful  was  Joseph  to  the  public  trust  reposed  in  him, 
that  the  arrival  of  a  beloved  brother,  whom  he  had 
not  seen  for  many  years,  did  not  make  him  regard- 
less of  the  duties  of  his  office. 

When  the  men  were  brought  into  Joseph's  house, 
agreeably  to  the  friendly  order  given  at  their  arrival. 
"  They  were  afraid;  and  said, one  to  another.  Because 
of  the  money  that  was  returned  in  our  sacks,  at  the 
first  time,  are  we  brought  in,  that  he  may  seek  occa- 
sion against  us,  and  fall  upon  ns,  and  take  us  for  bond- 
men." Conscious  guilt  is  always  timid,  and  apt  to 
mistake  even  acts  of  kindness  for  tokens  of  approach- 
ing retribution.  Tiiese  men  had  become,  in  some 
measure,  sensible  of  their  ill-desert;  it  was,  therefore, 
perfectly  natural  that  they  should  be  fearful,  and  ap- 
prehensive of  some  distressing  mark  of  the  divine  dis- 
pleasure, on  account  of  their  evil  deeds:  for,  sooner  or 
later,  vengeance  to  the  full,  will  overtake  those  who 
go  on  in  their  sins.  The  price,  for  which  Joseph,  and 
a  greater  than  Joseph  were  sold,  never  afforded  the 
traitors  much  satisfaction.  Indeed,  all  ill-gotten  gain 
15 


170  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

is  nnblessed,  and  cannot  profit  the  possessor,  for  any 
considerable  time.  A  conscience  void  of  offence  to- 
wards God  and  man  is  better  than  rabies.  *'  The 
righteous  is  as  bold  as  a  lion;  but  the  wicked  fleeth, 
when  no  one  pursueth  him." 

The  conduct  of  the  steward,  on  this  occasion,  was 
soothing  and  amiable.  Having  heard  their  statement, 
respecting  the  money  v/hich  had  been  returned  in  their 
sacks,  he  endeavoured  to  soothe  their  troubled  minds, 
referring  tliem  to  an  overruling  providence,  in  the 
whole  matter,  and  assuring  them  of  his  master's  kind 
intentions,  he  introduced  Simeon  to  them,  and  gave 
them  water  to  wash  their  feet;  a  usage  which  was 
common,  and  necessary  to  comfort  and  cleanliness,  in 
those  countries  where  people  wore  sandals,  instead  of 
shoes  or  boots,  such  as  we  are  accustomed  to. 

Joseph,  having  attended  to  the  call  of  public  busi- 
ness, came  home  at  the  appointed  hour,  and  received 
the  present  at  the  hand  of  these  visitants,  who  respect- 
fully bowed  themselves  to  the  earth  before  him;  again, 
verifying  the  dream,  which  had  been  a  subject  of  ridi- 
cule and  an  occasion  of  jealousy  and  hatred.  And 
here  ensued  a  painful  struggle  between  Joseph's  fra- 
ternal affection  and  magisterial  firmness.  "  He  asked 
them  of  their  welfare,  and  said.  Is  your  father  well? — 
the  old  man  of  whom  ye  spake.  Is  he  yet  alive? — 
And  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  saw  his  brother  Ben- 
jamin, his  own  mother^s  son,  and  said.  Is  this  your 
younger  brother,  of  whom  ye  spake  unto  me?  And 
he  said,  God  be  gracious  unto  thee,  my  son!  And 
Joseph  made  liaste;  for  his  bowels  did  yearn  upon  his 
brother,  and  he  sought  where  to  weep,  and  he  entered 
into  his  chamber  and  wept  there."  Wiiat  a  force 
upon  nature's  strong  and  kindly  tendencies!  Those 
tender  inquiries  concerning  his  venerated  father,  and 
the  sight  of  his  dear  Benjamin,  raised  the  pleasing 
hope  in  our  minds,  on  first  reading  the  history,  that 
the  veil  was  now  to  be  laid  aside,  and  that  we  should 
immediately,  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  these  sons  of 
Jacob,  so  long  separated  and  afflicted,  falling  into  each 
other's  arms,  with  mutual  congratulations,  and  united 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  171 

thanksgiving  to  tlie  God  of  their  father  Israel.  But 
no:  the  design  of  Joseph's  coiiceahiient  of  his  kindred 
relation  to  them  is  not  ^^et  fully  accomplished.  He, 
therefore,  after  giving  vent  to  his  feelings  in  his  pri- 
vate chamber,  refrains  himself;  resumnig  his  usual 
self-possession  and  dignity  of  deportment,  he  comes 
forth,  and  orders  dinner  to  be  served  up,  in  a  style 
becoming  his  station.  Three  tables  were  furnished, 
on  the  occasion:  one  for  Joseph,  one  for  his  breth- 
ren, and  one  for  the  Egyptians,  who,  from  prejudice, 
or  national  antipathy,  refused  to  eat  bread  with  the 
Hebrews.  The  foundation  of  this  antipathy  is,  pro- 
bably to  be  found  in  tlie  fact,  that  the  Hebrews  sacri- 
ficed, and  ate  the  flesh  of  certain  animals,  which  the 
Egyptians  held  sacred,  and  reckoned  among  the  mul- 
titude of  their  idols.  While  at  dinner,  Joseph  showed 
his  peculiar  fondness  for  Benjamin,  by  the  bountiful 
manner  in  which  he  supplied  him  with  the  choice 
viands  and  delicacies  of  his  own  table.  This  may 
seem  like  a  trivial  circumstance;  but  it  was  one  of  th^ 
curious  usages  of  the  times,  and  was  intended  as  a 
mark  of  distinguishing  favour.  It  would,  also,  serve, 
in  this  instance,  as  a  gentle  test  of  the  estimation,  in 
which  this  young  favourite  was  held  by  the  other 
brothers  : — "  And  they  drank,  and  were  merry  whh 
him."  The  Scriptures  give  us  a  faithful  and  unvar- 
nished account  of  men  and  things.  There  are,  in 
these  inspired  records,  no  pains  taken  to  excuse,  or  set 
off"  to  advantage,  favourite  characters.  We  are  here 
reminded  of  the  oblivious  eff*ect  of  indulging  freely  at 
the  festive  board.  It  is  always  dangerous;  and  often 
produces  a  degree  of  hilarity  bordering  on  delirium, 
which  renders  men,  alike,  um-nindful  of  duty,  and  in- 
capable of  performing  it.  These  sons  of  Jacob  had 
come  a  long  journey,  on  important  business,  and  in 
very  afTectnig  circumstances.  They  had  come  to 
Egypt  to  get  bread  for  their  families,  in  a  time  of  dis- 
tressing scarcity,  and  to  procure,  if  possible,  the  en- 
largement of  a  brother,  whom,  on  a  former  visit  to 
this  country,  they  had  been  obliged  to  leave  in  bond- 
age.    This  was  not  a  lime  for  merrimciit.     They  en- 


172  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

tered  the  house  of  Joseph  in  great  trepidation,  lest  they 
should  be  detained  as  bond-men,  and  utterly  fail  of 
accomplishing  the  object  of  their  mission;  but,  at  the 
conclusion  of  this  sumptuous  feast,  we  find  them 
drinking  and  making  merry,  although  their  business 
was  not  yet  done,  nor  their  danger  past.  The  famine 
was  still  raging  in  Canaan — their  aged  father  was 
praying  in  his  tent,  for  their  success  and  speedy  re- 
turn— the  perils  and  anxieties  of  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren at  home,  were  increasing  every  hour.  Their 
conduct,  then,  was  manifestly  exceptionable,  and  un- 
seemly in  this  matter.  Behold,  here,  as  in  a  mirror, 
the  madness  of  those  men,  who  resort  to  intemperance, 
to  forget  their  troubles;  and  who,  in  forgetting  their 
troubles,  sin  against  their  God,  ruin  their  souls,  and 
beggar  their  families  ! 

Joseph  probably  observed  this  tendency  to  light- 
ness and  dissipation,  in  his  brethren;  of  which,  he 
might  deem  it  important,  that  they  should  be  cured, 
before  he  made  himself  known  to  them.  He  might 
judge  that  further  trials  and  disappointments  were 
needful  to  prepare  them  to  enjoy,  with  becoming 
thankfulness  and  humility,  the  kindly  influence  of 
that  flood  of  blessings,  which  Divine  Providence  in- 
tended, in  due  time,  to  pour  forth  upon  them  and  their 
father^ s  house.  Hence  the  project  which  he  adopted 
for  the  detention  of  Benjamin.  Soon  after  the  social 
entertainment,  just  noticed,  Joseph  directed  his  stew- 
ard to  "Fill  the  men's  sacks  with  food,  as  much  as 
they  could  carry,  and  to  put  every  man's  money  in 
his  sack's  mouth:''  and,  he  adds,  "  Put  my  cup,  the 
silver  cup,  in  the  sack's  mouth  of  the  youngest,  and 
his  corn-money."  These  orders  being  executed,  the 
eleven  brothers,  laden  with  provision,  set  their  faces 
towards  Ciuiaan,  delighted  with  what  had  taken  place, 
and  cheered  with  the  prospect  before  them.  But  they 
had  not  proceeded  far  on  their  way,  when  the  stew- 
ard receives  orders  to  pursue  them,  and  charge  them 
with  ingratitude  and  dishonesty:  "Up,  follow  after  the 
men;  and,  when  thou  dost  overtake  them,  say  unto 
them,  wherefore  have  ye  rewarded  evil  for  good?    Is 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  173 

not  this  it  in  which  my  lord  (h'iiiketh?  and  whereby, 
indeed,  he  divineth?  Ye  have  done  evil,  in  so  doing." 
It  wonld,  perhaps, be  ditficult  to  vindicate  the  whole  of 
Joseph's  conduct,  in  this  affair.  Tlie  charge  alleged 
against  the  men,  the  Hebrews,  was  the  stealing  of  a 
certain  cnp,  which  the  governor  nsed  for  purposes 
that  are  specified  by  the  steward:  "Is  not  this  it  in 
which  my  lord  drinketh?"  There  could  be  no  harm 
in  using  the  cup  for  that  purpose;  nor  any  thing 
amiss,  in  looking  diligently  after  the  rogue,  if  it  was 
really  stolen.  But  the  steward  adds,  "and  whereby, 
indeed,  he  divineth."  We  suspect,  with  Poole,  and 
other  judicious  expositors,  that  our  translators  of  the 
Bible,  have  not  given  the  true  meaning  of  this  place. 
The  verb  rendered,  to  divine,  signifies  to  inquire.,  or 
search  diligently:  and  that  which  is  translated,  where- 
by, might  be  rendered,  concerning,  or  about  ivhich: 
Then  the  steward's  interrogatory  would  run  thus:  "Is 
not  this  it  in  which  my  lord  drinketh;  and,  indeed, 
cojicerning  which,  as  estimating  it  highly,  he  ivill 
make  diligent  search?^^  This  construction  is  con- 
sistent enough  with  the  15th  verse  of  this  chapter: 
"Wot  ye  not,  that  such  a  man  as  I,  can  certainly  di- 
vine?" That  is,  make  strict  inquiry  after  offenders, 
and  not  suffer  them  to  escape  with  impunity?  There 
is  no  evidence  in  the  Bible,  unless  it  be  in  this  text, 
that  Joseph  practiced  any  of  the  superstitious,  or  idol- 
atrous arts  of  Egypt;  and  we  are  satisfied,  that  the 
cup  in  question,  was  not  used  by  him  for  any  im- 
proper purpose.  He  was  no  magician — he  affected 
no  familiarity  with  evil  spirits.  For  the  power  of  in- 
terpreting dreams,  as  we  have  seen  in  a  preceding  lec- 
ture, he  repeatedly  acknowledged  his  dependence  on 
the  true  God.  But  he  did  bring  a  false  accusation 
against  his  brethren:  he  did  order  the  steward  to 
place  the  cup  in  Benjamin's  sack,  and  then  directed 
him  to  pursue  the  company,  and  charge  them  with 
stealing  it:  and,  in  doing  this,  he  did  a  wrong  thing. 
It  is  of  no  avail  to  allege,  in  his  defence,  that  the  end 
was  good,  and  that  the  whole  matter  issued  happily. 
A  good  end  can  never  justify  the  use  of  unlawful 
15* 


174  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

means.  All  stratagems  are  violations  of  the  ninth 
commandment; — they  are  lies,  whether  they  be  ex- 
pressed in  words  or  embodied  in  actions;  they  are, 
therefore,  indetensible,  on  the  principles  of  sound  mo- 
rality, even  in  time  of  war,  and  when  practised  on  a 
public  and  avowed  enemy.  But  it  may  be  said,  the 
liand  of  Providence  was  in  this  thing,  to  order  it,  and 
bring  it  to  a  happy  and  useful  issue.  This  is  readily 
conceded;  and  so  the  hand  and  counsel  of  God  were 
concerned  in  the  crucifixion  of  Christ;  but  who  will 
imdertake,  from  that  fact,  to  justify  the  malice  and 
wickedness  of  his  crucifiers?  The  good  which  Pro- 
vidence educes  out  of  the  evil  deeds  of  men,  while  it 
redounds  to  the  praise  of  the  divine  wisdom  and  be- 
nignity, changes  not  the  nature  of  those  deeds,  nor 
diminishes  aught  of  the  guilt,  which  they  involve. 
Joseph  was  voluntary,  and  unconstrained,  in  accusing 
his  brethren  of  a  crime,  which  he  knew  they  had  not 
committed;  and,  therefore,  he  was  blameworthy:  let 
not  his  example  be  followed,  or  pleaded  in  similar 
cases.  His  object  was  benevolent,  no  doubt;  but  it 
might  have  been  accomplished  without  the  use  of 
stratagem  and  false  accusation. 

The  effect  of  this  unrighteous  contrivance,  was,  at 
first  embarrassing  and  painful.  On  being  arrested, 
the  men  solemnly  declared  that  they  were  innocent 
of  the  charge;  cheerfully  offered  to  submit  to  a  rigor- 
ous search;  and  proposed,  conscious  of  their  integrity 
in  the  matter,  that  the  one,  in  whose  possession  the 
cup  might  be  found,  should  be  put  to  death,  and  that 
the  others  should  become  bondmen.  These  terms 
were  not,  indeed,  accepted  by  the  steward;  but  even 
his  condition  was  distressing:  '-He  with  whom  it  is 
found  shall  be  my  servant;  and  ye  shall  be  blame- 
less." The  sacks  are  all  laid  on  the  ground,  and 
opened;  and  the  officer,  commencing  with  the  oldest, 
proceeded  in  the  examination,  without  success,  till  he 
came  to  the  youngest;  when, to  their  utter  consterna- 
tion, the  cup  is  found  in  Benjamin's  sack.  What  an 
unexpected  and  disastrous  event !  How  changed  their 
prospects!     What  gloomy  apprehensions  must  have 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  175 

filled  and  saddened  their  liearls !  In  token  of  deep  dis- 
tress and  self-abasement,  they  rend  their  clothes,  and 
lade  their  asses,  and  return  to  the  city.  Joseph  receives 
them  with  an  appalling  sternness,  and  not*  without  re- 
proaching them,  impliedly,  for  their  supposed  folly  and 
wickedness.  "  What  deed  is  this  that  ye  have  done? 
wot  ye  not  that  such  a  man  as  I  can  certainly  divine!" 
What  a  strange  compound  of  inconsistencies  is  man! 
Joseph  is  doing  violence  to  his  own  nature,  and  pur- 
suing a  course,  in  which  we  shall  soon  see  him  re- 
tracing his  steps  with  penitence  and  tears.  We  know 
that  his  aim  is  good;  but  we  utterly  disapprove  of 
the  measures  taken  to  effect  it.  Truth  and  justice 
are  sacred  things;  and  are  not  to  be  trifled  with,  on 
any  occasion,  or  under  any  pretext  whatever.  This 
ill  advised  scheme  for  the  detention  of  Benjamin,  and 
his  swearing  "by  the  life  of  Pharaoh,"  which  seems 
to  have  been  a  fashionable  oath,  among  the  courtiers, 
are  blemishes  on  the  character  of  Joseph,  recorded  and 
handed  down  to  teach  the  world,  that  perfection  is 
not  to  be  found  in  any  mere  man.  Of  Jesus  Christ 
alone  could  it  be  said  with  truth,  that  "  He  was  holy, 
harmless,  undefiled  and  separate  from  sinners."  Jo- 
seph has  been  blamed,  also,  for  keeping  his  father  ig- 
norant upwards  of  twenty  years,  of  the  fact,  that  the 
son  whom  the  old  man  supposed  to  have  been  torn 
in  pieces  by  some  evil  beast,  was  yet  alive  and  well. 
For  this  seeming  neglect  of  filial  duty,  however,  there 
may  have  been  weighty  reasons,  arising  out  of  cir- 
cumstances, with  which  we  are  not  made  acquainted. 
When  it  had  been  decided,  that  Benjamin  should 
be  detained  a  bondman,  in  consequence  of  the  cup 
being  found  in  his  sack,  the  other  brothers,  with 
Judah  for  their  spokesman,  make  their  appeal  to  Jo- 
seph's clemency  and  compassion,  in  one  of  the  best 
constructed,  most  eloquent,  and  impressive  speeches 
that  ever  was  delivered.  The  whole  address  is  ex- 
quisitely fine,  and  deserves  to  be  in  every  one's 
memory.  Let  us  attempt  a  brief  analysis  of  it: — 
First,  we  observe,  a  respectful  and  conciliatory  intro- 
duction; "  0  my  Lord,  let  thy  servant,  I  pray  thee, 


17S  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

speak  a  word  in  my  Lord's  ears,  and  let  not  thine 
anger  burn  against  thy  servants;  for  tliou  art  even  as 
Pharaoli."  On  tliis  introduction,  Mr.  Henry,  the 
commentator  observes:  "  Rehgion  does  not  destroy 
good  manners;  and  it  is  prudence  to  speak  those  fair, 
at  whose  mercy  we  lie :  titles  of  honour,  to  those  that 
are  entitled  to  them,  are  not  flattering  titles." 

2.  Benjamin's  tender  age,  and  his  being,  as  was 
supposed  by  the  family,  the  only  surviving  son  of  his 
mother  Rachel,  are  urged,  as  giving  him  some  claim 
to  compassion :  "  He  is  a  little  one — he  is  young  com- 
pared with  the  rest  of  us — unacquainted  with  the 
world,  and  not  inured  to  hardship,  having  been  reared 
up  by  his  father's  side:  And  his  brother,  (Joseph)  is 
dead,  and  he  alone  is  left  of  his  mother.'^  This  re- 
mark must  have  touched  a  tender  fibre  in  Joseph's 
heart. 

3.  Benjamin  had  been  brought  down  to  Egypt,  in 
obedience  to  the  command  of  Joseph,  who  had  ex- 
pressed a  great  desire  to  see  him,  and  forbidden  the 
others  his  presence,  unless  the  younger  brother  came 
with  them;  and,  now,  that  he  had  been  brought 
through  so  much  difficulty,  at  the  governor's  urgent 
desire,  might  he  not  hope  for  mercy.     But, 

4.  The  grand  argument,  which  Judah  insists  upon 
is,  the  insupportable  grief  which  it  would  be  to  his 
father^  if  Benjamin  should  be  left  in  servitude.  "  His 
father  loves  him : — his  life  is  bound  up  in  the  lad's 
life."  This  the  good  old  man  himself  had  urged 
against  his  going  down  into  Egypt  at  all ;  "  If  mis- 
chief befal  him,  ye  will  bring  down  my  gray  hairs 
with  sorrow  to  the  grave."  This  consideration  is, 
therefore,  pressed  with  inimitable  skill,  and  earnest- 
ness:  "Now,  then,  when  I  come  to  thy  servant,  my 
father,  and  the  lad  be  not  with  us ;  (seeing  that  his 
life  is  bound  up  in  the  lad's  life)  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
when  he  seeth  that  the  lad  is  not  with  us,  that  he  will 
die;  and  thy  servants  shall  bring  down  the  gray  hairs 
of  thy  servant,  our  father,  with  sorrow,  to  the  grave." 

5.  To  show  his  respect  for  Joseph's  decision,  as 
well  as  to  evince  liis  own  sincerity,  in  begging  for 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  177 

Benjamin's  enlargement,  Jiidah  offers  himself  to  be- 
come the  bondman,  agreeably  to  the  suretiship  which 
he  assumed,  to  gain  Jacob's  consent  to  his  favourite 
son's  accompanying  them  into  Egypt.  Thus  the  law 
would  be  honoured,  and  Joseph  would  be  no  loser  by 
the  substitution  of  the  one  for  the  other. 

'^  Now,"  says  the  excellent  expositor  just  named, 
"had  Joseph  been,  as  Judah  supposed  him,  an  utter 
stranger  to  the  family,  yet  eveu  common  humanity 
could  not  but  be  wrought  upon  by  such  powerful  rea- 
sonings as  these,  for  nothing  could  be  said  more  mov- 
ing— more  tender;  it  was  enough  to  melt  a  heart  of 
stone.  But  to  Joseph,  who  was  nearer  akin  to  Ben- 
jamin than  Judah  himself  was,  and  who,  at  this  time, 
felt  a  stronger  affection,  both  for  him  and  his  aged 
father,  than  Judah  did,  nothing  could  be  more  pleas- 
ingly, or  more  happily  said." 

But  no  human  paraphrase,  liowever  studied  and 
elaborated,  can  do  justice  to  this  address.  It  is  truly 
a  finished  piece  of  intercessory  pleading.  It  is  all 
sheer  nature — nature  speaking  the  truth,  in  simplicity, 
under  the  influence  of  intense  feeling,  which  is  always 
eloquent.  The  concluding  sentence  is  irresistible  : 
"  Now,  therefore,  I  pray  thee,  let  thy  servant  abide, 
instead  of  the  lad,  a  bondman  to  my  lord ;  and  let 
the  lad  go  up  with  his  brethren :  for  how  sliall  I  go 
up  to  my  father  and  the  lad  be  not  with  me?  lest, 
peradventure,  I  see  the  evil  that  shall  come  on  my 
father."  It  is  enough,  Joseph  can  no  longer  act  a 
part.  He  sees  that  Benjamin  is  sincerely  beloved  by 
the  other  brethren — he  cannot  refrain  himself — he 
weeps  aloud,  and  between  the  convulsive  sobs  that 
break  from  his  affectionate  heart,  says,  in  broken  ac- 
cents: "/«?72  Joseph: — doth  my  father  yet  live?"  No 
wonder  his  brethren  could  not  answer  him,  but  were 
troubled  at  his  presence.  They  are  petrified,  shy, 
and  incredulous — it  cannot  be,  that  this  is  our  brother. 
Yes,  it  is  even  so. — "Come  near  to  me,  I  pray  you: — I 
am  Joseph,  your  brother,  whom  ye  sold  into  Egypt: 
nor  be  grieved,  nor  angry  with  yourselves  that  ye 
sold  me  hither;  for  God  did  send  me  before  you,  to 


17S  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

preserve  life. — It  is  my  mouth  that  speaketh  unto 
you." — "And  he  fell  upon  his  brother  Benjamin's 
neck,  and  wept;  and  Benjamin  wept  upon  iiis  neck: 
Moreover,  he  kissed  all  his  brethren,  and  wept  upon 
them:  and  after  that,  his  brethren  talked  with  him." 

What  a  pleasing  development  of  the  deeply  invol- 
ved scheme  of  Providence!  What  a  noble  triumph 
of  religion  and  fraternal  kindness  over  envy,  injus- 
tice, and  cruelty!  How  delightful  to  see  brethren  re- 
conciled, and  dwelling  together  in  unity;  heart  beating 
to  heart,  with  commingled  tears,  and  mutual  forgive- 
ness! who  does  not  participate,  in  this  feast  of  love? 
The  mighty  sensation  is  felt  all  about  the  court  of 
Egypt.  Even  Pharaoh's  stout  heart  feels  the  kindly 
influence.  Joseph's  brethren  are  come;  and  for  Jo- 
seph's sake,  they  shall  taste  the  good  of  the  land; — 
they  shall  be  nourished  in  Goshen.  Go,  my  faithful 
minister,  says  the  generous  monarch,  take  wagons — 
lade  them  with  provisions,  for  the  way — send  for 
your  father's  house:  the  good  of  all  the  land  of 
Egypt  is  yours.  It  is  done;  as  Pharaoh  gave  com- 
mand. "So,  Joseph  sent  his  brethren  away;  and 
they  departed;  and  he  said  unto  them,  see  that  ye 
fall  not  out  by  the  way.  And  they  went  up  out  of 
Egypt,  and  came  into  the  land  of  Canaan  unto  Jacob 
their  father,  and  told  him,  saying,  Joseph  is  yet  alive, 
and  he  is  governor  over  all  the  land  of  Egypt:  and 
Jacob's  heart  fainted,  for  he  believed  them  not; — 
and  when  he  saw  the  wagons  which  Joseph  had  sent 
to  carry  him,  the  spirit  of  Jacob,  their  father,  revived. 
And  Israel  said,  It  is  enough;  Joseph  my  son  is  yet 
alive:  I  will  go  and  see  him  before  I  die!" 

In  our  next  lecture  we  intend  accompanying  Jacob 
and  his  family  from  Beersheba,  of  Canaan,  to  Goshen, 
in  the  land  of  Egypt.  Bnt  it  is  time  to  close  this, 
with  a  few  reflections.  How  entertaining  and  in- 
structive the  brief  biographical  sketches,  contained  in 
the  Bible!  We  have  only  touched,  here  and  there 
on  the  thread  of  Joseph's  life,  and  yet,  what  an 
amount  of  useful  and  interesting  matter  has  come 
under  our  notice!     Scripture  biography  is  not  eulo- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  179 

gistic;  neither  is  it  romantic,  or  imaginative.  It  gives 
us  a  faithful  dehneation  of  human  nature.  It  nar- 
rates the  faults  and  foibles  of  its  subjects,  as  well  as 
their  good  qualities  and  praiseworthy  deeds.  Truth, 
and  impartiality  are  its  distinguishing  characteristics. 
Thus,  it  gives  ns  just  ideas  of  men  and  manners; 
apprizing  us  of  what  we  may  expect  to  meet  with 
in  our  intercourse  with  mankind,  and  guarding  our 
minds  against  those  wild  and  visionary  notions,  so 
often  imbibed  by  the  reading  of  works,  whose  object 
is  to  gratify  a  false  and  fastidious  taste,  rather  than 
inform  the  judgment  and  improve  the  heart.  We 
have,  here,  no  faultless  characters,  for  the  reason  that, 
there  is  no  perfection  in  man;  but  we  are  shown,  in 
numerous  and  impressive  instances,  that  "godliness 
is  profitable  unto  all  things — having  promise  of  the 
life  that  now  is,  and,  also,  of  that  which  is  to  come." 
"Wherewithal  shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his  way? 
By  taking  heed  thereto,  according  to  thy  word." 


180  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 


LECTURE    XIX. 


JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY    GO    INTO    EGYPT;     AND    THERE    THE 
PATRIARCH    DIES. 

And  Israel  took  his  journey,  witli  all  that  he  had,  and  came  to  Bccr- 
sheba,  and  offered  sacrifices  unto  the  God  of  liis  father  Isaac.  And 
God  spake  unto  Israel  in  the  visions  of  the  night,  and  said,  Jacob, 
Jacob !  and  he  said  here  am  I:  and  he  said,  I  am  God,  the  God  of 
thy  father;  fear  not  to  go  down  into  Egypt;  for  I  will  there  make 
of  thee  a  great  nation.  I  will  go  down  with  thee  into  Egypt;  and 
I  will,  also,  surely  bring  thee  up  again:  and  Joseph  shall  put  his 
hand  upon  thine  eyes.  And  Jacob  rose  up  from  Bcer-sheba;  and 
the  sons  of  Israel  carried  Jacob  their  father,  and  their  little  ones, 
and  their  wives,  in  the  wagons  which  Pharaoh  had  sent  to  carry 
him.  And  they  took  their  cattle, ^and  their  goods  whicli  they  had 
gotten  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  came  into  Egypt,  Jacob  and  all 
his  seed  with  him :  his  sons,  and  his  sons'  sons  with  him,  his 
daughters,  and  his  sons'  daughters,  and  all  his  seed  brought  he 
with  him  into  Egypt."— Gen.  xlvi.  1-7. 

It  is  good  to  acknowledge  the  Lord  in  all  our  ways; 
for  we  have  the  sure  promise  that,  if  we  do  so,  he 
will  direct  our  paths.  Jacob  acted  on  this  principle, 
and  found  it  greatly  to  his  advantage.  The  venera- 
ble patriarch,  contemplating  a  removal  into  a  strange 
land,  deems  it  proper  to  consult  God,  and  seek  his 
special  guidance  and  protection,  amidst  the  perils  and 
difficulties  of  the  undertaking.  Accordingly,  having 
come  to  Beersheba,  on  the  southern  border  of  Ca- 
naan, a  place  noted,  as  the  scene  of  divine  manifesta- 
tions to  Abraham  and  Isaac,  he  offered  sacrifices  to 
the  God  of  his  fathers,  and  implored  the  heavenly 
benediction  on  himself  and  his  family.  His  success 
and  acceptance,  on  this  occasion,  were  such  as  could 
not  fail  to  confirm  his  faith  and  animate  his  hope  in 
the  great  disposer  of  the  lots,  and  lives,  and  destinies 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  181 

of  men.  "  God  spake  unto  Israel  in  the  visions  of  the 
night,  and  said,  I  am  God,  the  God  of  thy  father; 
fear  not  to  go  down  into  Egypt:  for  I  will  tliere  make 
of  thee  a  great  nation."  Ohserve,  here,  the  impor- 
tance of  being  in  covenant  relation  with  our  Maker, 
and  of  serving  and  adoring  liim,  as  the  God  of  our 
fathers.  Jacob  is  directed  in  the  path  of  duty,  and 
assured  of  the  diyine  favour  and  protection,  with  par- 
ticular reference  to  the  covenant-promises,  made  to 
his  father  Isaac.  "  I  will  establish  my  covenant  be- 
tween me  and  thee,  and  thy  seed  after  thee,  in  their 
generations,  for  an  everlasting  covenant,  to  be  a  God 
unto  thee  and  to  thy  seed  after  thee,"  is  a  promise  of 
vast  extent,  and  most  blessed  import.  It  is,  as  we 
verily  believe,  to  this  comprehensive  promise  made 
to  the  church,  then  in  the  family  of  Abraham,  that 
the  apostle  Peter  refers,  in  his  address  to  the  anxious 
multitude,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost:  "  Repent,  and  be 
baptized  every  one  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ, 
for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift 
of  the  Holy  Ghost;  for  the  promise  is  unto  you,  and 
to  your  children,  and  to  all  that  are  afar  off,  even 
as  many  as  the  Lord  our  God  shall  call.^^  Let  not 
baptized  youth  forget  the  obligation  which  theii'  bap- 
tism lays  upon  them,  to  serve  God  in  newness  of  life: 
nor  should  parents  fail  to  plead  this  promise,  in  pray- 
ing for  their  children.  Having  dedicated  our  little 
ones  to  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  let  us 
follow  up  the  solemn  act,  by  faithful  instruction,  pious 
example,  and  fervent  intercessions;  and  why  may  we 
not  indulge  the  fond  hope,  that  our  God  will  be  the 
God  of  our  children,  in  their  generations?  It  is  not 
strange  that  Jacob  should  be  afraid  to  go  down  into 
Egypt.  It  was  the  strong  hold  of  idolatry,  where  evil 
communications  would  be  very  likely  to  corrupt  the 
good  manners  of  his  family.  He  probably  recollect- 
ed, also,  the  premonition  given  to  Abraham,  that  his 
descendants  should  suffer  sore  oppression,  in  that 
country.  But,  being  assured  of  the  presence  and 
guardianship  of  the  God  of  his  father,  who  promised 
not  only  to  be  with  him,  but,  there  to  cherish  him, 
16 


182  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

and  make  of  him  a  great  nation,  his  fears  would  sub- 
side, and  he  would  go  forward,  hopeful  and  submis- 
sive, committing  his  way  to  the  Lord.  Nor  was  he 
left  in  doubt  concerning  the  issue  of  this  perilous  mi- 
gration :  *'  I  will,  also,  surely  bring  thee  up  again,  con- 
tinues the  Holy  Oracle,  and  Joseph  shall  put  his  hand 
upon  thine  eyes.'^  This  was  cheering  intelligence; 
and,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  sequel,  God  did  bring  him 
up  again,  in  his  posterity,  and  his  beloved  Joseph  did 
close  his  eyes  in  deatii.  With  these  decisive  indica- 
tions of  the  divine  will,  and  ample  assurances  of  the 
Almighty's  care,  the  aged  patriarch,  with  his  family 
and  the  moveable  property  gathered  in  Canaan,  sets 
out  for  the  land  of  Goshen.  How  unsettled  and  liable 
to  vicissitude  is  our  condition,  in  the  present  world! 
Here  is  a  man,  nearly  worn  out,  and  sinking  under 
the  sorrows  and  toils  of  his  pilgrimage,  called  of  Pro- 
vidence to  seek  a  new  habitation  in  a  distant  country, 
at  the  advanced  age  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  years! 
We  may  not  expect  a  permanent  residence  here  be- 
low; but  we  look  for  one,  which  hath  foundations, 
whose  builder  and  maker  is  God.  How  mysterious, 
also,  the  dispensations  of  Providence  towards  his  peo- 
ple, considered  as  a  community  in  covenant  with  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel!  Here  is  the  whole  visible  church 
of  the  living  God  in  motion,  to  seek  deliverance  from 
the  pressure  of  famine,  in  a  heathen  land,  where  we 
should  naturally  expect  to  see  her  merged  and  lost,  in 
the  common  mass  of  human  corruption.  Such  would 
be  the  anticipations  of  sense  and  unbaptized  reason. 
But  not  so:  her  God  is  still  in  the  midst  of  her;  and, 
by  his  direction,  she  is  going  to  an  asylum  purposely 
prepared  for  her,  where  she  is  to  be  fed,  and  reared 
up  into  a  great  nation. 

The  number  of  souls  that  accompanied  Jacob  into 
Egypt,  is' stated  to  be  sixty -six;  but,  including  Jacob 
himself,  together  with  Joseph  and  his  two  sons,  they 
amount  to  seventy.  As  there  is  an  apparent  discre- 
pancy between  this  account  and  that  which  is  given 
in  the  Septuagint  translation  of  the  Bible,  and,  by 
Stephen,  in  Acts  vii.  14,  where  the  number  is  stated 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  183 

to  have  been  three  score  and  fifteen  souls,  we  give, 
from  Dr.  Whitby's  "Paraphrase  and  Commentary  on 
the  New  Testament,^'  the  best  solution  of  the  diffi- 
culty that  we  have  met  with:  "According  to  Gen. 
xlvi.  26,  all  the  souls  that  come  into  Egypt,  from  the 
loins  of  Jacob,  besides  Jacob's  sons'  wives,  were  sixty 
and  six  ;  add  to  these  the  wives  of  his  eleven  sons,  and 
they  make  seventy  and  seven ;  take  from  them  Hez- 
ron  and  Hamel,  not  yet  born,  and  they  were  only 
seventy-five.  Now  it  was  the  design  of  Moses  only 
to  give  an  account  of  those  that  came  out  of  Jacob's 
Joins,  as  it  is  said,  verses  6,  7,  8,  26,  and,  therefore,  he 
excepts  their  wives  out  of  his  catalogue  of  sixty-six, 
and  makes  them  up  seventy,  as  before,  verse  27.  But 
Stephen  undertakes  only  to  tell  us  the  number  of  those 
that  Joseph  called  into  Egypt,  viz.  his  father  and  all 
his  kindred.  Some,  theretore,  of  the  list  of  Moses 
must  be  left  out  of  Stephen's  number,  viz.  Joseph  and 
his  two  sons,  who  were  there  already,  Hezron  and 
Hamel,  who  were  not  yet  born,  and  Jacob  whom  he 
reckons  apart ;  that  is,  take  out  these  six  from  the 
seventy,  and  there  remain  sixty-four;  which,  with  the 
eleven  wives  of  his  sons,  are  seventy-five.  Now  that 
these  wives  were  a  part  of  those  that  were  called  by 
Joseph  is  certain;  because  he  called  Jacob  and  his 
household  and  all  that  he  had.  Gen.  xlv.  11.  And, 
thus,  it  appears,  that  Moses,  the  Septuagint,  and 
Stephen,  so  far  from  contradicting  each  other,  all 
speak  the  truth,  in  harmony."  (See  Whitby's  Anno- 
tations on  Acts  vii.  14.) 

The  Israelites,  then,  at  their  entrance  into  Egypt, 
exclusive  of  Jacob  himself,  and  Joseph,  with  his  des- 
cendants, but  including  the  wives  of  Joseph's  breth- 
ren, were  seventy-five  in  number;  but  taking  into  the 
calculation  Jacob,  and  Joseph,  with  his  two  sons  Ma- 
nasseh  and  Ephraim,  they  would  amount  to  seventy- 
nine. 

When  the  family  reached  the  land  of  Goshen,  Jo- 
seph gave  them  a  cordial  reception,  and  spared  no 
pains  to  make  them  happy.  "  He  made  ready  his 
chariot,  and  went  up  to  meet  Israel,  his  father, — and 


184  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

presented  himself  unto  him  ;  and  he  fell  on  his  neck, 
and  wept  on  his  neck  a  good  while.  And  Israel  said 
unto  Joseph,  jiow  let  me  die,  since  I  have  seen  thy 
face,  because  thou  art  yet  alive."  What  a  tender  and 
interesting  meeting  !  The  aged  patriarch,  delighted 
to  embrace  once  more,  his  living  Joseph,  seems  de- 
sirous of  leaving  the  workl,  in  [lis  present  happy 
frame  of  mind,  lest  he  should  be  a  burden  to  his  chil- 
dren, or  have  to  encounter  further  trials,  which  might 
disturb  his  peace,  and.  tempt  him  to  sin,  under  the 
growing  infirmities  of  old  age.  Thus  the  good  old 
Simeon,  when  he  clasped  the  infant  Saviour  in  his 
arms  exclaimed;  ^'  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant 
depart  in  peace,  according  to  thy  word;  for  mine  eyes 
have  seen  thy  salvation !"  Other  pious  persons,  in 
similar  circumstances,  have  felt  something  of  the  same 
longing  desire  to  leave  this  vale  of  tears,  and  enter 
into  the  heavenly  rest.  But  it  is  better,  and  more  be- 
coming the  servants  of  God  to  say,  with  Job,  "  all  the 
days  of  my  appointed  time  will  I  wait,  till  my  change 
come.''  We  should  be  willing  to  stay  in  this  world, 
till  we  are  regularly  dismissed  by  the  Author  of  life. 
We  were  brought  into  this  probationary  state,  for 
wise  and  holy  purposes;  and  so  soon  as  these  pur- 
poses are  accomplished  by  us,  or  upon  us,  we  shall  be 
discharged  from  the  labours  of  our  heavenly  Master's 
vineyard,  and  introduced  into  a  state  of  final  and  eter- 
nal retribution,  where  every  one  will  be  disposed  of, 
according  to  the  decisions  of  infallible  truth  and  per- 
fect righteousness. 

The  filial  afiection  and  reverence,  which  Joseph 
manifested  to  his  father,  are  truly  admirable,  and 
worthy  of  imitation.  Young  people  are  too  ready  to 
forget,  or  to  neglect  the  obligations  they  are  under  to 
serve  and  honour  their  parents.  Those,  especially, 
who  have  risen,  from  humble  circumstances  to  wealth 
and  distinction  in  society,  are  very  apt  to  grow  shy 
and  neglectful  of  their  obscure  relatives.  This  is  a 
sin  against  nature;  and  it  is  exceedingly  offensive  to 
Him,  with  whom  there  is  no  respect  of  persons.  We 
may,  indeed,  have  occasion  to  blush  and  mourn  for 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  185 

the  sins  and  ill  conduct  of  our  kindred;  but  we  are 
never  to  disown  tlieni,  or  treat  them  with  contempt. 
They  are  bone  of  our  bone  and  flesh  of  our  flesh: 
and,  if  we  difter  from  them,  for  the  better,  we  should 
remember,  that  it  is  providence,  or  grace,  that  makes 
the  dirterence.  Parental  love  is  the  purest  and  most 
disinterested  aflection  that  glows  in  the  hutnan  heart; 
and  when  unimpeded  in  its  influence,  by  the  baser 
passions,  it  prompts  to  services,  watchings,  and  self- 
denials,  which  can  never  be  fully  repaid.  0,  with 
what  wakeful  solicitude  does  the  faithful  parent  guard 
the  child,  during  the  period  of  helpless  infancy,  and 
along  the  perilous  pathway  of  childhood  and  youth! 
In  fact  the  assiduous  attentions  of  our  earthly  parents, 
bear  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  tender  mercies  of 
our  Father  in  heaven.  They  cannot  be  too  highly 
appreciated;  and  we  shall,  doubtless,  feel  their  kindly 
and  obliging  power  in  the  future  world.  When 
tempted  to  neglect  the  wants,  or  the  honour  of  those 
whose  offspring  we  are,  and  who  cared,  and  prayed, 
and  toiled  for  us,  when  we  were,  from  weakness  and 
inexperience,  incapable  of  taking  care  of  ourselves,  let 
us  call  to  mind,  not  only  the  fifth  commandment,  and 
the  example  of  Jesus,  who  committed  his  mother  to 
the  care  of  his  beloved  disciple  John,  but  let  us  think 
of  Joseph,  who  did  not  disdain  to  descend  from  the 
chair  of  state  to  embrace  his  father,  though  a  plain 
man,  whose  "trade  had  been  to  feed  cattle,  from  his 
youth."  Here  was  genuine  dignity — real  greatness 
— honest  nature,  sanctified  by  grace,  and  worthy  to 
be  had  in  everlasting  remembrance.  No  factitious 
eminence  of  rank,  or  power,  can  exempt  us  from  the 
sacred  duties  of  filial  devotion.  The  man,  therefore, 
who  from  vanity,  avarice,  or  any  other  motive,  de- 
serts his  father  or  his  mother,  while  it  is  in  his  power 
to  shield,  to  honour,  and  to  comfort  them,  must  have 
made  fearful  progress  in  the  road  to  confirmed  de- 
pravity, and  cannot  be  considered  as  deserviuir  to 
participate  of  the  endearments  and  the  charities  of 
social  life. 

-Joseph's  kindness  to  his  brethren  was  a  noble  in- 
16* 


1S6  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

Stance  of  the  triumph  of  rehgion  over  the  corrupt  pas- 
sions and  propensities  of  the  human  heart.  They  had 
treated  liini  with  shameful  and  unnatural  cruehy — 
had  consigned  him  to  slavery,  and  banishment  from 
his  father's  tent;  and  now  we  see  them  at  his  feet, 
and  completely  in  his  power.  He  miglit  avenge  him- 
self upon  them  to  the  full,  if  he  were  so  disposed;  but 
no,  he  chooses  to  act  on  the  magnanimous  and  divine 
principle  of  overcoming  evil  with  good.  Not  revenge, 
but  forgiveness  was  sweet  to  his  regenerated  taste. 
No  marks  of  condescension,  no  acts  of  brotherly  kind- 
ness are  too  expensive  to  demonstrate  his  affectionate 
regard  for  them  and  their  wives,  and  their  little  ones. 
He  owns  them  at  court,  introduces  them  to  Pharaoh, 
feeds  them  in  their  time  of  need  on  the  finest  of  the 
wheat,  and  assigns  them,  by  permission  of  the  king, 
one  of  the  most  fertile  provinces  in  the  empire,  as  a 
possession  and  place  of  residence. 

Joseph's  good  sense,  in  advising  his  brethren  not  to 
be  ashamed  of  their  occupation,  is,  also,  worthy  of 
notice.  They  had  been  employed  from  their  youth, 
in  the  care  and  rearing  of  cattle.  This  they  were 
directed  frankly  to  acknowledge,  when  interrogated 
by  Pharaoh  on  the  subject, although  "every  shepherd 
was  an  abomination  to  the  Egyptians.'^  The  ground 
of  this  antipathy  to  the  character  and  business  of  a 
shepherd,  is  supposed  to  have  been  three-fold. 

1.  Feeders  of  cattle  were,  in  many  instances,  a  sort 
of  freebooters,  who  committed  such  outrages  as  ren- 
dered the  name  and  employment  of  shepherds  odious. 

2.  Manetho,  the  historian,  says,  that  at  a  certain 
period,  hordes  of  marauders,  under  the  name  of  shep- 
herd-kings, from  Arabia,  Syria,  and  Ethiopia,  whose 
chief  occupation  was  to  keep  flocks,  made  an  irrup- 
tion into  Egypt,  which  they  subdued  and  ruled,  with 
great  tyranny,  for  upwards  of  two  hundred  years. 

3.  That  which  formed  the  principal  occasion  of  pre- 
judice against  the  Jewish  shepherds,  and  which  has 
been  noticed  before,  in  the  course  of  these  lectures, 
was  the  fact,  that  they  sacrificed  those  very  animals, 
the  ox  and  the  sheep,  which  the  Egyptians  held  sa- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  1S7 

cred,  and  regarded  as  objects  of  worsliip.  Hence 
Tacitus,  the  Roman  historian,  says,  of  the  Israehtes; 
"They  sacrifice  the  ram,  in  order  to  insult  Jupiter 
Amnion;  and  they  sacrifice  the  ox,  which  the  Egypt- 
ians worship  under  the  name  of  Apis." 

But,  notwithstanding  the  shepherd's  employment 
liad  been  rendered  odious,  by  the  misconduct  of  some 
who  followed  that  way  of  life,  still,  it  was  not,  in  itself, 
dishonest ;  and  as  Joseph's  brethren  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  it  all  their  days,  he  would  not  have  them 
relinqnish  it  for  other  pursuits,  to  which  they  were 
strangers,  and  for  which  they,  probably,  had  neither 
the  taste  nor  the  talents  requisite  to  success.  This 
piece  of  counsel  was  wholesome  and  judicious;  and 
it  suggests  a  useful  hint,  on  a  practical  and  important 
point  of  duty.  There  is  a  fickleness  in  some  people, 
which  operates  very  injuriously,  often,  to  their  in- 
terests, both  temporal  and  spiritual.  Fancying  that 
the  business  to  which  they  have  been  trained  is  not 
so  reputable,  so  easy,  or  so  gainful  as  that  of  some 
others,  they  are  ever  ready  for  an  exchange  of  place, 
or  of  employment;  a;nd,  not  unfrequently,  such  per- 
sons resign  a  small,  but  regular  income,  for  the  pre- 
carious fruits  of  wild  and  hazardous  experiments.  In 
religious  concerns  this  restless  instability  of  character 
does  immense  mischief.  It  keeps  some,  for  years,  in 
search  of  the  best  scheme  of  religion — the  purest  de- 
nomination of  Christians — the  most  approved  and 
most  popular  preachers.  Persons  of  this  description 
cannot  be  religiously  edified.  They  are  unwilling  to 
locate  themselves  in  any  particular  church,  lest  some- 
thing should  turn  up  to  make  them  regret  their  choice. 
In  the  meantime,  they  either  worship  God  no  where, 
or  they  are  going  from  Dan  to  Beersheba,and  travers- 
ing the  land,  in  its  width,  in  pursuit  of  a  ;;!/re,  or  of  a 
philosopkical,  or  o(  afashionabie  church.  The  result, 
in  some  instances  is,  they  get  their  heads  so  filled  with 
the  favourite  notions,  and  distinguishing  tenets  of  all 
sorts  and  sizes  of  religious  sects,  that  they  conclude 
religion  ilse/f\s  but  a  name  or  a  form;  and  that  one 
will  be  freer  and  happier  unconnected  with  any  body 


188  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

of  religionists — a  perfect  cosmopolite — a  free-thinker, 
an  atiieist,  or  any  thing  else  that  may  happen  to  suit 
a  vitiated  and  untutored  taste. 

But,  to  resume  the  thread  of  history.  The  family 
of  Jacob,  following  the  good  advice  of  Joseph,  retired 
from  court,  tended  their  cattle,  gave  themselves  dili- 
gently to  the  cultivation  of  the  luxuriant  soil  of  Ra- 
meses,  and,  under  the  smiles  of  Providence,  they  mul- 
tiplied and  prospered,  beyond  a  parallel,  for  the  space 
of  seventeen  years.  And,  now  the  time  drew  near, 
when  Israel,  the  sorrow-worn  and  beloved  patriarch, 
must  die.  He  had  not,  indeed,  attained  to  the  age  of 
his  fathers,  in  the  days  of  their  pilgrimage;  but  a  hun- 
dred and  forty-seven  years  was  long  enough  to  have 
lived  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land.  Of  his  diversified 
life,  the  seventeen  years  he  spent  in  Egypt  were  pro- 
bably the  happiest;  yet,  being  a  man  of  faith,  he  was 
unwilling  that  his  iDones  should  lie  there.  Regarding 
Canaan,  not  only,  as  an  inheritance  promised  to  his 
descendants,  but  as  a  type  of  heaven,  he  desired  that 
his  mortal  remains  might  be  borne  thither,  and  de- 
posited in  the  cave  of  Machpelah,  "which  is  before 
Mamre,  and  which  Abraham  bought  of  Ephron  the 
Hittite,  for  a  possession  of  a  burying-place.^'  He,  no 
doubt,  intended  this  to  remind  his  family  that  Egypt 
was  not  to  be  the  place  of  their  settled  residence,  and 
to  encourage  them  to  expect  the  fulfilment  of  the  pro- 
mises made  to  their  fathers.  Accordingly,  Joseph 
is  engaged,  under  the  solemnity  of  an  oath,  to  see 
the  venerable  old  man's  will,  in  this  matter,  carried 
into  effect ;  and,  as  might  be  expected,  the  dutiful  son 
is  all  attention  to  the  wants  and  wishes  of  his  sick  and 
dying  father.  The  closing  scenes  of  the  lives  of  good 
men  are,  generally,  edifying  and  impressive.  This  of 
Jacob  is  peculiarly  so.  Mark,  how  he  exerts  himself, 
on  the  bed  of  languishing,  that  he  may  recount,  in  the 
hearing  of  his  children,  the  past  mercies  and  promised 
blessings  of  Heaven,  to  him  and  to  his  seed  after  him, 
for  many  generations!  His  soul  seems  to  grow  vigor- 
ous, and  lucid,  and  heavenly,  in  proportion,  as  his 
outer  man  fails.     See,  with  what  parental  fondness 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORT.  189 

he  embraces  Manasseh  and  Ephraim,  the  children  of 
his  beloved  Joseph,  adopting  them,  as  his  own  sons, 
making  them  heads  of  distinguished  tribes  in  Israel, 
and  preferring,  by  divine  guidance,  the  younger  to  the 
elder!  Hear  with  what  heaven-inspired  ardour,  he 
pours  his  blessing  upon  the  interesting  group  that 
stand  before  him!  "And  he  blessed  Joseph,  and  said, 
God,  before  whom  my  fathers,  Abraham  and  Isaac  did 
walk,  the  God  who  fed  me  all  my  life  long  unto  this 
day,  the  angel,  which  redeemed  me  from  all  evil,  bless 
the  lads;  and  let  my  name  be  named  on  them,  and 
the  name  of  my  fathers,  Abraham  and  Isaac;  let  them 
grow  into  a  multitude  in  the  midst  of  the  earth ! 
And  Israel  said  unto  Joseph,  Behold,  I  die ;  but  God 
shall  be  with  you,  and  bring  yoU  again  unto  the  land 
of  your  fathers/' 

Jacob's  last  discourse.  Gen.  xlix.,  delivered  in  the 
hearing  of  all  his  sons,  convened  to  receive  his  bless- 
ing and  witness  his  departure  out  of  this  world,  is 
one  of  the  richest,  deepest,  and  most  comprehensive 
pieces  of  prophecy  contained  in  the  Bible.  The  things 
here  foretold  were,  chiefly,  to  befal  them  "in  the  last 
days;"  whence  it  is  evident  that  they  relate,  not  so 
much  to  the  twelve  patriarchs,  personally,  as  to  their 
respective  families,  in  successive  and  distant  genera- 
tions. But  as  the  illustration  of  prophecy  falls  not 
within  the  scope  of  these  lectures,  we  shall  pass  over 
this  interesting  portion  of  the  sacred  text,  with  only 
two  or  three  short  remarks. 

1.  Simeon  and  Levi,  for  their  base  conduct  towards 
the  Shechemites,  Gen.  xxxiv.  25,  are  to  be  "divided 
in  Jacob,  and  scattered  in  Israel;"  i.  e.  they  are  to  be 
dispersed  among  the  other  tribes,  and  have  no  distinct 
allotments  in  Canaan:  which  prediction  was  literally 
fulfilled.  The  Levites  were  employed  in  the  service 
of  the  tabernacle,  and  had  no  inheritance,  except  for- 
ty-eight small  villages  scattered  through  the  land:  nor 
had  Simeon  any,  except  a  small  share  as  a  tempo- 
rary accommodation,  in  one  corner  of  Judah's  lot, 
Joshua  xix.  1;  which,  upon  finding  it  too  contracted, 
they  abandoned,  and  planted  colonies  on  a  tract  of 


190  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL  HISTORY. 

country,  which  they  wrested  from  the  possession  of 
the  Idumeans  and  Amalekites.    1  Chron.  iv.  39. 

2.  Judah  is  pointed  out,  as  the  honoured  tribe  from 
which  the  Redeemer  was  to  descend:  "Thou  art  he 
whom  thy  brethren  shall  praise;  thy  hand  shall  be  in 
the  neck  of  thine  enemies:  thy  father's  children  shall 
bow  down  before  thee  : — The  sceptre  shall  not  depart 
from  Judah,  nor  a  law-giver  from  between  his  feet, 
until  Shiloh  come;  and  unto  him  shall  the  gatherina^ 
of  the  people  be."  This  prophecy  fixes  the  time  of 
the  Messiah's  advent,  with  admirable  precision;  and 
its  exact  fulfilment,  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  has  been 
demonstrated  with  a  force  of  argument,  and  a  flood 
of  light,  which  it  is  not  easy  to  resist,  without  the  aid 
of  sophistry,  or  obstinate  and  determined  unbelief  It 
will  stand,  while  the  world  stands,  a  monument  of 
Jacob's  prophetic  gift,  and  a  memorial,  to  all  genera- 
tions, that  the  divine  deliverer  is  come,  and  that 
all  ends  of  the  earth  should  receive  and  adore  him. 

3.  The  benediction  pronounced  on  Joseph  is  con- 
veyed in  a  style  of  inimitable  beauty,  and  seems  to 
point,  ultimately,  to  the  church  of  God,  under  the  em- 
blem of  a  luxuriant  and  wide-spreading  vine :  "  Jo- 
seph is  a  fruitful  bough,  even  a  fruitful  bough  by  a 
well,  whose  branches  run  over  the  wall.  The  arch- 
ers have  sorely  grieved  him,  and  shot  at  him,  and 
.hated  him;  but  his  bow  abode  in  strength,  and  the 
arms  of  his  hands  were  made  strong  by  the  hands  of 
the  mighty  God  of  Jacob:  from  thence  is  the  Shep- 
herd, the  Stone  of  Israel." 

But  we  must  take  leave  of  the  sainted  seer,  whose 
history  has  so  much  delighted  and  instructed  us.  He 
is  going  the  way  of  all  the  earth — he  is  ripe  for  glory; 
let  us  observe  the  manner  of  his  exit: — "And  when 
Jacob  had  made  an  end  of  commanding  his  sons,  he 
gathered  up  his  feet  into  the  bed,  and  yielded  up  the 
ghost,  and  was  gathered  unto  his  people."  Mark  the 
perfect  man,  and  behold  the  upright;  for  the  end  of 
that  man  is  peace !"  What  a  tranquil,  desirable,  easy, 
and  hopeful  transition  from  the  scene  of  conflict  to 
tlie  seat  of  bliss!      To  expatiate  here,  would  be  to 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  191 

enfeeble  the  majestic  diction  of  the  Spirit,  and  to 
check  the  flow  of  devout  feehng  that  moves,  and 
warnfs,  and  elevates  the  soul  to  heaven,  and  to  God: 
"Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous;  and  let  my 
last  end  be  like  his!"  Israel's  spirit  \s gojie;  and  it 
is  no  sooner  gone,  than  it  is  gathered  to  his  people: 
so  ?iear  are  ive  to  the  other  world!  It  only  remains, 
now,  to  dispose  of  the  mortal  remains  of  this  beloved 
and  venerated  man  of  God,  in  a  manner  suited  to  his 
inestimable  worth;  and  Joseph  who  has  put  his  kind, 
and  filial  hand  on  the  eyes  that  were  used  to  look 
upon  him  with  complacent  fondness,  will  not  neg- 
lect the  last  office  of  love  that  can  be  performed  for 
one  so  dear. 


LECTURE  XX 


JACOB  S  FUNERAL,  AND  JOSEPH'S  DEATH. 

And  Joseph  dwelt  in  Egypt,  he  and  his  father's  house :  and  Joseph 
lived  a  hundred  and  ten  years.  And  Joseph  saw  Ephraim's  chil- 
dren of  the  third  generation :  the  children  also  of  Machir,  the  son 
of  Manasseh,  were  brought  up  upon  Joseph's  knees.  And  Joseph 
said  unto  his  brethren,  I  die ;  and  God  will  surely  visit  you,  and 
bring  you  out  of  this  land,  unto  the  land  which  he  sware  to  Abra- 
ham, to  Isaac,  and  to  Jacob.  And  Joseph  took  an  oath  of  the 
children  of  Israel,  saying,  God  will  surely  visit  you,  and  ye  shall 
carry  up  my  bones  from  hence.  So  Joseph  died,  being  an  hundred 
and  ten  years  old;  and  they  embalmed  him,  and  he  was  put  in  a 
coffin  in  Egypt.— Gen.  1.  22-26. 

We  have  dwelt  longer,  already,  on  the  history  of  this 
amiable  man,  than  we  originally  intended.  But  it  is 
difficult  to  tear  one's  self  away  from  the  contempla- 
tion of  a  character  so  full  of  interest  and  useful  instruc- 
tion. Three  particulars  concerning  him  remain  yet  to 
be  briefly  noticed,  viz:  The  attention  which  he  paid 


192  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORT. 

to  the  disposal  of  his  father's  remains,  agreeably  to 
the  old  man's  dying  injunction  ;  his  generous  conduct 
to  his  brethren  and  their  families,  after  their  common 
parent's  decease;  and  his  own  departure  out  of  this 
world. 

1 .  When  Jacob  had  resigned  his  spirit  into  the  hands 
of  Him  who  gave  it,  Moses  informs  us,  that,  "  Joseph 
fell  upon  his  father's  face,  and  wept  upon  him,  and 
kissed  him."  This  was  an  unequivocal  indication  of 
filial  fondness;  yet,  there  was  in  it  more  of  the  deli- 
rium of  grief,  than  of  quiet  submission  to  the  will  of 
God.  The  mortal  remains  of  our  deceased  friends 
should  be  treated  with  every  suitable  mark  of  affec- 
tion and  respect;  but  to  be  making  loud  lamentation 
over  them,  and  clinging  to  them,  with  a  sort  of  idola- 
trous attachment,  is  not  seemly:  nor  does  it  correspond 
well  to  the  faith  and  hope  of  Christians.  These  life- 
less forms  are  but  the  frail  and  perishable  tenements 
of  our  departed  relatives,  and  they  are  designed  by 
the  God  of  nature,  to  be  buried  out  of  our  sight.  The 
soul  which  wings  its  way  to  the  Father  of  spirits,  at 
the  last  stroke  of  the  beating  artery,  carries  along 
with  it  all  that  is  most  lovely  and  attractive  in  the 
human  creature.  The  practice,  therefore,  of  kissing 
the  corpse,  and  of  looking  into  the  grave,  after  it  has 
been  laid  to  rest  there,  till  the  morning  of  the  resur- 
rection, had  better,  perhaps,  be  dispensed  with;  for, 
although  it  may  not  be  sinful,  yet  it  does  seem  like  a 
needless  aggravating  of  the  anguish  of  nature,  on  such 
occasions,  with  very  little  effect,  so  far  as  our  observa- 
tion has  extended,  in  mending  the  heart,  or  in  dis- 
posing the  survivor  to  prepare  with  diligence  for  his 
own  final  exit!  We  should  do  all  the  good  in  our 
power,  to  our  friends,  while  we  have  them  about  us; 
and  when  on  the  bed  of  languishing,  we  should  grudge 
no  pains  or  expense  for  the  recovery  of  their  health, 
or  the  mitigation  of  their  distress,  noK  grow  weary  in 
offering  intercessions  for  the  salvation  of  their  souls: 
but  are  they,  indeed,  gone?  It  is  Christian  duty — it 
is  loyalty  to  the  King  eternal,  to  say,  and  sing,  sub- 
missive, "  The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken 


LECTURES    OS    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  1S3 

away :  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord !"  Excessive 
grief,  we  will  not  say  for  the  loss,  but  for  the  removal 
of  our  friends  by  death,  indicates  a  want,  or  at  least 
a  weakness  of  faith  in  God,  our  Saviour: 

"  Good  when  lie  gives ;  supremely  good  I 
Nor  less  when  he  denies. 
E'en  crosses,  from  his  sovereign  hand, 
Are  blessings  in  disguise." 

So  soon  as  Joseph  recovered  himself  from  the  first 
paroxysm  of  sorrow,  he  ordered  the  body  of  his  dear 
father  to  be  embalmed,  according  to  the  usage  of  the 
country ; — a  usage  which,  though  it  seems  to  have 
originated  in  necessity,  was  afterwards  kept  up,  as  a 
matter  of  pride  and  pageantry.  The  necessity  of  using 
some  means  of  preserving  dead  bodies  from  putrefac- 
tion, originated  in  the  overflowing  of  the  Nile,  which 
rose  and  spread  over  the  best  part  of  Egypt,  periodi- 
cally, to  the  height  of  from  twelve  to  sixteen  cubits, 
when  interment  was  impossible,  till  the  waters  had 
subsided.  The  process  of  embalming  is  described, 
with  minuteness,  by  Herodotus,  Diodorus  Siculus, 
and  others;  but  we  have  only  room  to  observe,  that 
the  efi'ect  was  similar  to  that  of  tanning.  The  object 
was,  to  remove  the  juices  of  the  animal  substance, 
and  close  up  the  pores  of  the  skin,  so  as  to  render  it 
impervious  to  air  and  water.  This  was  effected  by 
the  abundant  and  long  continued  use  of  certain  kinds 
of  spicery  and  salts,  after  the  body  had  been  tho- 
roughly cleansed,  and  otherwise  prepared  for  the  ap- 
plication. The  ceremony  was  less  or  more  expensive 
and  tedious,  in  proportion  to  the  distinction  and  sup- 
posed worth  of  the  deceased.  The  embalming  of 
Jacob's  body  was  necessary,  as  it  was  to  be  removed 
to  Canaan;  and,  in  his  case,  neither  pains  nor  expense 
seems  to  have  been  spared.  The  whole  process  occu- 
pied forty  days;  "and  the  Egyptians  mourned  for 
him  three  score  and  ten  days:'^  i.  e.  thirty  days,  in 
addition  to  those  spent  in  the  embalming.  And  now, 
the  body,  thus  prepared,  is  to  be  conveyed  to  the  cave 
of  Machpelah.  But  Joseph,  who  has  charge  of  the 
funeral  rites,  will  not  proceed,  without  leave  of  the 
17 


194  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

king;  and  as  no  one,  in  the  habiliments  of  mourning, 
was  allowed  to  come  into  tlie  royal  presence,  a  mes- 
senger is  sent  with  this  respectful  and  touching  re- 
quest: *•  Now,  therefore,  let  me  go  up,  T  pray  thee, 
and  bury  my  father,  and  I  will  come  again.''  "  Go 
up,  says  the  generous  prince,  and  bury  thy  father,  ac- 
cording as  he  made  thee  swear.  And  Joseph  went 
up  to  bury  his  father;  and  with  him  went  up  all  the 
servants  of  Pharaoh,  the  elders  of  his  house,  and  all 
the  elders  of  the  land  of  Egypt;  and  all  the  house  of 
Joseph,  and  his  brethren,  and  his  father's  house; — 
and  there  went  up  with  him,  both  chariots  and  horse- 
men: and  it  was  a  very  great  company."  Here  is 
the  most  costly,  if  not  the  most  splendid  funeral  pro- 
cession, that  we  have  ever  heard  of.  Not  only  the 
numerous  relatives  of  Israel  and  Joseph,  by  consan- 
guinity and  marriage,  but  the  courtiers,  the  servants, 
and  household  of  Pharaoh,  with  all  the  elders  or  chief 
men  of  the  whole  land  of  Egypt,  are  moving  in  order, 
and  with  tokens  of  the  profoundest  respect  for  the  me- 
mory of  the  deceased,  to  the  place  of  burial,  at  the 
distance  of  at  least  three  hundred  miles.  The  whole 
of  the  funeral  ceremonies,  including  the  embalming  of 
the  body,  the  procession,  and  the  interment,  must 
have  occupied  several  months;  and  the  expense,  in 
time,  provision,  horsemen  and  chariots  could  scarcely 
be  calculated.  This  is  noticed,  in  Scripture,  not  as  a 
commendable  thing,  or  as  an  example  to  be  imitated, 
(for  Jacob's  was  an  Egyptian  funeral)  but  to  show 
that  genuine  goodness  of  character  is  venerable,  and 
capable  of  commanding  the  homage  and  respect  even 
of  a  wicked  and  idolatrous  people.  With  Jacob,  the 
Egyptians  could  have  had  but  a  slight  acquaintance; 
but  the  father  of  such  a  man  as  Joseph — the  faithful 
servant,  the  heaven-taught  interpreter  of  dreams,  the 
philanthropist,  and  the  upright  statesman,  was  not  to 
be  buried,  without  suitable  marks  of  respect  for  the 
tried  excellence  of  the  son,  if  not  for  the  piety  and 
humble  greatness  of  the  father.  It  is  pleasing  to  see 
the  memory  of  the  beloved  patriarch  honoured,  even 
in  a  strange  land,  and  by  a  pagan  people,  for  he  was 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  195 

a  good  man — a  man  of  God,  and  a  man  of  renown 
immortal ;  but  it  slionld  be  remembered  that  neither 
gorgeous  funerals,  nor  elaborated  eulogies  can  confer 
posthumous  worth  on  one,  who,  while  living,  was 
useless  or  mischievous  to.  society.  Many  a  wretch, 
whom  the  world  was  quite  glad  to  get  rid  of,  has 
been  consigned  to  the  dust  with  imposing  tokens  of 
regret  at  his  removal,  ai]d  of  esteem  for  his  memory. 
But  it  is  all  a  vain  show.  Personal  worth  is  an  in- 
trinsic thing.  If  a  man  will  live  to  himself,  and  to 
the  gratification  of  his  lusts; — if  he  will  pursue  the 
objects  of  an  unsanctified  ambition,  and  will  not  con- 
tribute his  part  towards  the  advancement  of  the  inte- 
rests of  truth,  righteousness,  piety  and  humanity, 
during  his  life-time,  you  may  spend  a  fortune  on  his 
obsequies,  and  erect  a  mausoleum  over  his  ashes,  but 
you  cannot  raise  one  emotion  of  respect  for  him  in 
the  minds  of  those  who  knew  his  manner  of  life,  nor 
can  you  break,  or  in  anywise  alter  the  adamantine 
seal  which  death  fixes  on  his  character.  "  The  me- 
mory of  the  just  is  blessed,  but  the  name  of  the  wicked 
shall  rot."  Prov.  x.  7. 

When  the  funeral  procession  of  Jacob  had  reach- 
ed Canaan,  it  halted  at  the  threshing-floor  of  a  man, 
named  Atad,  near  Jericho,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
river  Jordan.  It  was  usual  in  that  country,  to  have 
threshing-floors,  or  places  for  treading  out  their  grain 
in  the  open  field:  and  Atad  was  probably  an  able 
farmer,  and  could  furnish  the  great  company  with 
such  accommodations  as  were  requisite  ibr  themselves 
and  their  horses,  that  they  might  take  some  rest,  after 
a  long,  fatiguing  journey,  and  make  the  necessary 
preparation  for  proceeding  to  the  place  of  interment, 
yet  several  miles  distant.  Here  Joseph  ordered  a 
special  mourning  of  seven  days  continuance,  agreea- 
bly to  the  divinely  instituted  usage  of  the  house  of 
Israel.  This  observance  was  so  solemn  and  impres- 
sive, as  to  attract  the  notice  of  the  Canaanites,  who 
.pronounced  it  ''  a  grievous  mourning;"  and  to  perpe- 
tuate the  remembrance  of  it,  Atad's  threshing-floor 
was  called  by  a  new  name,  Abel-mizraim,  i.  e.  the 


196  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

mourning  of  (he  Egyptians.  This  hallowed  season 
of  affectionate  wailing  ended,  the  sons  of  Jacob,  with 
their  numerous  attendants,  moved  forward,  and  did 
according  as  their  lamented  father  had  commanded 
them;  they  "buried  him  in  the  cave  of  the  field  of 
Machpelah :''  "dust  to  dust,  and  ashes  to  ashes,"  to 
mingle  and  rest  till  the  morning  of  the  resurrection, 
with  the  mouldering  remains  of  Abraham  and  Isaac, 
Rebekah  and  Leah,  his  beloved  kindred,  whose  bodies 
had  taken  peaceable  possession  of  the  promised  land 
before  him,  and  whose  souls,  gathered  to  their  people, 
had  already  received  his  happy  spirit  into  everlasting 
habitations  in  the  kingdom  of  glory. 

This  last  office  of  filial  devotion  performed,  Joseph 
returns  to  his  place,  and  resumes  his  duties  agreeably 
to  promise,  at  the  court  of  Egypt.  But,  now,  that 
their  father,  the  common  object  of  veneration  and 
centre  of  union,  is  removed,  Joseph's  brethren  become 
uneasy,  lest  he  should  take  advantage  of  their  de- 
pendent condition,  to  avenge  upon  them  the  evil 
which  their  own  consciences  fearfully  reminded 
them,  that  they  had  done  unto  him.  They,  accord- 
ingly, go  in  a  body  and  prostrate  themselves  before 
him,  confessing  their  misdeeds,  offeriiig  to  become  his 
servants;  and,  in  the  name  of  their  father,  and  their 
father's  God,  imploring  forgiveness,  and  further  pro- 
tection: which  brings  us  to  notice, 

2.  His  treatment  of  these  offending,  but  humbled 
and  conscience-smitten  brothers. — We  have  had  occa- 
sion to  observe  and  admire  his  conduct  in  this  respect, 
before;  we  shall  therefore  content  ourselves,  at  pre- 
sent, with  a  very  few  additional  remarks.  The  for- 
giveness of  injuries  was  manifestly  an  article  in 
Joseph's  creed,  which  had  thoroughly  transfused  its 
kindly  influence  into  the  temper  of  his  heart.  The 
injustice  and  cruelty  which  he  received  from  sinners, 
were  regarded  by  him  as  the  rod^  in  a  divine  hand. 
To  that  hand  his  eye  was  continually  directed  for 
support  and  deliverance.  His  views  rose  above  in- 
struments and  second  causes,  up  to  the  grand  mover 
and  controller  of  all  events;  and  this  devout  habit  of 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  197 

regarding  the  Lord's  hand  in  every  thing  that  befell 
him,  whether  prosperous  or  adverse,  gave  him  a  noble 
superiority  to  the  spirit  and  maxims  ot^  the  world.  He 
would  rather  svffer  wrong,  than  run  the  risk  of  doing 
wrong,  in  attempting  to  vindicate  his  rights,  or  take 
vengeance  on  his  adversaries.  He  was  willing  to 
refer  his  cause  to  the  Searcher  of  hearts,  and  quietly 
to  await  the  decisions  of  the  final  judgment.  Hence, 
we  find  him  saying,  with  tears,  to  his  suppliant  breth- 
ren, "  Fear  not;  for  am  I  in  the  place  of  God?"  That 
is,  Is  it  for  me  to  seek  revenge?  Doth  not  vengeance 
belong  to  God?  So  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  freely 
forgive  you,  and  am  heartily  disposed  to  do  you  good, 
and  not  evil.  But,  if  you  would  have  peace  of  con- 
science, and  desire  that  your  sins  maybe  so  pardoned, 
as  that  they  shall  not  rise  up  in  judgment  against  you 
at  another  day,  you  must  ask  pardon  of  Hhn  who 
hath  power  to  forgive  sins,  and  who  hath  power,  also, 
to  destroy  both  soul  and  body  in  hell.  And,  here, 
again,  he  refers  them  to  the  gracious  designs,  and 
overruling  Providence  of  heaven,  in  permitting  them 
to  treat  him,  as  they  had  done:  "As  for  you,  ye 
thought  evil  against  me;  but  God  meant  it  unto  good, 
to  bring  to  pass,  as  it  is  this  day,  to  save  much  people 
alive. '^  This  language  conveys  no  apology  for  their 
sin;  their  evil  intention  involves  guilt  and  proves  them 
blameworthy:  but  their  minds  are  directed  to  a  won- 
der-working Providence,  as  comprising  in  its  mighty 
sway  all  possible  occurrences,  and  conducting  them, 
eventually,  to  great  and  holy  ends.  And  now,  to 
put  the  hearts  of  these  trembling  brothers  at  rest,  in 
regard  to  his  disposition  towards  them  and  their  fami- 
lies, he  offers  them  more  than  their  request;  "Fear 
ye  not:  I  will  nourish  you,  and  your  liltle  ones.  And 
he  comforted  them,  and  spake  kindly  unto  them." 
Here  we  see  brotherly  kindness  and  genuine  magna- 
nimity beautifully  blended,  and  shedding  a  glory,  the 
one  upon  the  other.  What  a  fine  exemplification  of 
•Paul's  maxim:  "  If  thine  enemy  hunger,  feed  him; 
if  he  thirst,  give  him  drink:  for  in  so  doing  thou  shalt 
heap  coals  of  fire  upon  his  head."  Joseph's  repeated 
17* 


198  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

acts  of  generous  beneficence  operaled  on  the  hard- 
heartedness  of  his  brethren,  like  fire  npon  the  fusible 
metals.  They,  at  first,  felt  the  operation  to  be  pain- 
ful, as  it  brought  tlienn  to  serious  reflection,  and  cover- 
ed them  witli  shame  for  tlieir  enormous  offences:  but, 
in  the  issue,  it  proved  salutary.  It  mollified,  and 
melted  them  down,  as  into  a  new  mould;  and  result- 
ed in  a  perfect  reconciliation,  and  mutual  confidence 
between  them  and  their  much  injured  brother.  Evil, 
in  this  instance,  was  fairly  overcome  with  good. 
Blessed  triumph!  Let  ns  go  and  do  likewise,  to  all 
that  have  wronged,  or  offended  us.  To  pass  by  an 
injury  is  the  property  of  a  great  soul :  to  take  fire,  and 
insist  on  satisfaction  for  offences,  sometimes  imagi- 
nary, and  when  real  and  intended,  are  often  the  effect 
of  passion,  which,  if  allowed  a  little  time,  would  sub- 
side and  relent,  betrays  a  small  mind  and  a  corrupt 
heart.  Revenge  is  a  spirit  of  darkness; — forgiveness, 
an  angel — a  messenger  of  peace,  from  the  region  of 
love  divine. 

Joseph  had  dwelt  in  Egypt,  now,  about  thirty- 
nine  years,  thirteen  of  which  were  spent  in  bondage, 
and  imprisonment,  and  twenty-six,  in  the  office  of 
prime  minister  of  state,  in  which  office  he  probably 
continued  till  his  death,  v/hich  did  not  take  place  till 
fifty-six  years  after  that  of  his  father.  Of  this  period 
but  little  notice  is  taken  by  the  sacred  historian; 
whence,  we  may  conclude  that  it  was  tranquil,  and 
not  marked  by  any  very  striking  incidents.  We  are 
informed,  however,  that  he  "saw  Ephraini's  children 
of  the  third  generation,  and  that  the  children  of  Ma- 
chir,  the  son  of  Manasseh,  were  also  brought  up 
upon  Joseph's  knees."  From  these  short  hints,  it 
seems  probable  that  he  lived  to  see  his  father's  house 
greatly  multiplied,  and  growing  rapidly  into  a  great 
nation,  according  to  the  divine  promise;  that  the  lat- 
ter portion  of  his  life  was  more  peaceful  than  the 
former;  and  that  he  met  the  king  of  terrors  undis- 
mayed, and  with  a  hope  full  of  immortality. 

This  is  rendered  probable  not  only  by  the  general 
tenour  of  his  life,  which  was  eminently  pious  and 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  199 

useful,  but  by  the  manner  in  which  he  speaks  of  his 
approacliing  dissolution,  and  the  order  he  gives  con- 
cerning his  bones.  And  thus,  we  are  brought  to  the 
last  article  of  our  present  lecture. 

3.  The  departnre  of  this  interesting  man  out  of 
this  world. — We  find  many  useful  lessons  in  tracing 
his  varied  and  active  life;  let  us  stand  by  him  in  the 
closing  scene:  perhaps  his  example,  here,  may  sug- 
gest some  ideas  worthy  of  attention,  concerning 
death:  "And  Joseph  said  unto  his  brethren,  /  ^/e; 
and  God  will  surely  visit  you,  and  bring  you  out  of 
this  land  unto  the  land  which  he  sware  to  Abraham, 
to  Isaac,  and  to  Jacob."  I  die.  What  simplicity  of 
expression:  yet,  the  thought  is  awfully  sublime.  It 
bespeaks  a  mind  perfectly  self-possessed,  hopeful  and 
tranquil,  just  entering  the  world  of  spirits.  Reader, 
if  the  summons  were  put  into  your  hand,  could  you 
say,  with  the  like  composure,  to  your  brethren  and 
friends,  I  die  7  If  you  have  peace  with  God,  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  you  could;  but  not  otherwise. 
Think  of  this,  betimes.  The  good  hope  is  now  set 
before  you,  in  the  gospel;  but  if  you  defer  laying 
hold  of  it  till  the  inexorable  messenger  beckons  you 
away  to  other  worlds,  you  will  find  something  in 
dying  more  fearful  than  has  ever  been  described  to 
you.  Place  the  eternal  life  of  your  soul  in  safe  keep- 
ing "  with  Christ  in  God/'  and  death,  instead  of 
being  terrible,  will  be  one  of  your  covenant-blessings. 
"  To  me  to  live  is  Christ ;  and  to  die  is  gain." 

Mark,  also,  the  energy  of  the  patriarch's  faith  in 
the  diviue  promises,  and  his  solicitude  to  encourage 
the  laith  and  hope  of  his  surviving  friends,  even  in 
the  hour  of  dissolution.  "  God  will  surely  visit  you, 
and  bring  you  out  of  this  land,  &c."  Thus,  Christian, 
when  you  come  to  die,  cleave  with  full  purpose  of 
heart  to  the  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises 
of  the  blessed  gospel,  and  try  to  engage  survivors  to 
come  out  of  sin's  dark  territories,  and  aspire  afier  the 
light  and  liberty,  the  peace  and  joy  of  the  redeemed. 

"And  Joseph  took  an  oath  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
saying,  God  will  surely  visit  you,  and  ye  shall  carry 


200  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

up  my  bones  from  hence.''  This  order  in  relation  to 
his  mortal  remains,  was  his  last  act  so  far  as  we  are 
mformed:  and  that  it  was  an  act  of  that  divine  faith, 
which  "is  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  and  the 
evidence  of  things  not  seen,"  has  been  infallibly  de- 
termined by  the  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
xi.  22:  ^^  By  fail h,  Joseph,  when  dying,  made  men- 
tion of  the  departure  of  the  children  of  Israel:  and 
gave  commandment  concerning  his  bones."  This 
solicitude  of  the  patriarchs,  particularly  of  Jacob  and 
Joseph,  to  have  their  bones  laid  in  the  cave  of  Mach- 
pelah,  Abraham's  burying-place,  had  its  foundation 
in  religion.  It  was  not  so  much  to  sleep  with  their 
fathers  that  they  desired,  as  to  sleep  in  Canaan,  the 
land  of  promise,  and  the  type  of  heaven.  They  de- 
signed thus  to  evince  their  faith  in  God,  and  their 
hope  of  everlasting  life;  and  to  stimulate  their  de- 
scendants to  expect  the  fulfilment  of  every  word  of 
promise  that  proceeded  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Lord. 
A  desire  to  mingle,  in  death,  with  the  dust  of  kin- 
dred and  countrymen  is  still  extensively  felt  among 
mankind.  But,  as  the  same  reason  does  not  now 
exist  which  influenced  Israel  and  his  sons,  we  need 
indulge  no  anxiety  on  the  subject.  It  is  a  matter  of 
little  moment  where  our  bodies  are  deposited,  or  how 
widely  the  particles  that  compose  them  may  be  scat- 
tered; for,  whether  they  swim  in  ocean's  vast  do- 
main, or  lie  unburied  in  the  forest,  or  soar  aloft  in 
feathered  forms,  enough  to  secure  personal  identity 
shall  be  forthcoming  at  the  archangel's  call,  enforced 
by  the  trump  of  God.  "  Those  who  sleep  in  Jesus, 
will  God  bring  wiih  him  :" — "  wherefore,  comfort  one 
another  with  these  words." 

"  So  Joseph  died,  being  an  hundred  and  ten  years 
old;  and  they  embalmed  him,  and  he  was  put  in  a 
coffin  in  Egypt." 

^2  coffin!  Reader,  the  boards  may  be  seasoned,  of 
which  yours  is  to  be  made.  You  will  not  live  a  hun- 
dred and  ten  years;  and  your  days  are  numbered,  as 
the  days  of  a  hireling.  Be  a  follower  of  them  who, 
through  faith  and  patience,  inherit  the  promises.  Serve 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  201 

Joseph's  God; — fly  to  the  angel  that  redeemed  Jo- 
seph's father  from  all  evil:  and  let  the  coffin  come: 
let  it  receive  the  sacred  deposite — the  mouldering 
tabernacle.  No  coffin  shall  enclose  the  soul:  that 
shall  be  free,  and  safe,  and  happy.  If  needful,  a  con- 
voy of  angels  shall  have  it  in  charge,  and  conduct  it 
to  Abraham's  bosom, ^here  it  shall  be  ever  with  the 
Lord,  to  behold  his  glory  and  to  join  the  blood-bought 
throng  in  that  celestial  chorus — "  Unto  him  that  loved 
us,  and  washed  us  from  our  sins,  in  his  own  blood; 
and  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  God  and  his 
Father;  to  him  be  glory  and  dominion,  for  ever  and 
ever:    Amen!'' 


LECTURE  XXI. 

THE  BIRTH  AND  PRESERVATION  OF  MOSES. 

And  Pharaoh's  daughter  said  unto  her,  Take  this  child  away  and 
nurse  it  for  me,  and  I  will  give  thee  thy  wages — and  the  child 
grew,  and  she  brought  him  unto  Pharaoh's  daughter,  and  he  be- 
came  her  son;  and  she  called  his  name  Moses;  because,  said  she, 
I  drew  him  out  of  the  water. — Exodus  ii.  9, 10. 

The  portion  of  sacred  Scripture,  on  which  we  now 
enter,  is  called  Exodus — a  Greek  word,  signifying 
literally,  the  going  out,  or  the  departure ;  because  the 
departure  of  the  Israelites  from  Egypt  is  the  princi- 
pal subject  of  which  it  treats.  It  narrates  the  trans- 
actions of  about  one  hundred  and  forty-five  years, 
beginning  at  the  death  of  Joseph  and  ending  with  the 
erection  of  the  tabernacle,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Mount  Sinai.  Moses  is  generally  believed  to  have 
been  the  writer  of  this  book,  although,  as  was  usual 
with  the  inspired  penman,  he  speaks  of  himself  in  the 
third  person.  And,  if  it  be  asked,  how  he  could  give 
an  account  of  his  own  birih,  and  the  circumstances  at- 
tending it,  we  answer, — In  the  same  way  in  which 


202  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

he  described  the  creation  of  the  world,  and  other 
events  that  took  place  long  before  he  was  born;  that 
is,  by  the  inspiration  of  the  Almighty,  and  by  means 
of  tradition,  used  underthe  special  guidance  of  Divine 
Providence.  We  observe  a  fulness,  and  occasionally, 
a  minuteness,  in  this  and  the  three  following  books 
of  sacred  Scripture,  which  we^o  not  find  in  tlie  book 
of  Genesis.  This  is  what  we  would  naturally  expect, 
as  the  writer  here  relates  fects  in  which  he  was  per- 
sonally concerned,  and,  of  which  he  was,  for  the  most 
part,  an  eye-witness. 

In  the  beginning  of  this  second  book  of  Moses,  we 
have  the  names  of  Jacob's  sons,  who,  with  their  seve- 
ral families,  accompanied  him  into  Egypt,  amounting 
to  seventy  in  number,  as  was  stated  towards  the  close 
of  the  preceding  book:  or,  leaving  out  of  the  calcula- 
tion, Hezron  and  Hamel,not  then  born,  together  with 
Joseph  and  his  two  sons,  and  Jacob  himself,  and  in- 
cluding the  wives  of  Joseph's  eleven  brethren,  the 
number  would  be  seventy-five;  but  including  Jacob 
and  Joseph,  Manasseh  and  Ephraim,the  whole  house- 
hold of  Israel,  at  the  time  of  their  taking  refuge  in 
Egypt,  from  the  pressure  of  famine,  amounted  to 
seventy-nine.  To  prevent  confusion,  however,  we 
shall  follow  Stephen's  reckoning.  Acts  vii.  14,  which 
makes  their  number  three-score  and  fifteen. 

After  the  death  of  Joseph,  and  his  brethren,  and  all 
that  generation,  which  is  mentioned  in  one  short  sen- 
tence, as  if  to  remind  us  of  the  brevity  of  human  life, 
we  are  told  that,  "  the  children  of  Israel  were  fruitful, 
and  increased  abundantly,  and  multiplied  and  waxed 
exceeding  mighty;  and  the  land  was  filled  with  them  ; 
— a  striking  fulfilment  of  the  divine  promise,  often  re- 
peated to  Abraham  and  his  sons,  as  well  as  a  verifi- 
cation of  Jacob's  prediction,  on  his  death-bed;  Gen. 
xlviii.  16,  that  they  should  "  grow  into  a  multitude  in 
the  midst  of  the  earth." 

This  rapid  increase  and  growing  prosperity  of  the 
house  of  Israel,  soon  attracted  public  notice,  and  in 
process  of  time,  drew  upon  them  the  oppressive  rod 
of  a  jealous  government.  '•  Now  there  arose  up  a  new 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  203 

king  over  Egypt,  who  knew  not  Joseph;  and  he  said 
unto  his  people,  Behold  the  people  of  the  children  of 
Israel  are  more  and  mightier  than  we.  Come  on,  let 
us  deal  wisely  with  them,  lest  they  multiply,  and  it 
come  to  pass,  that,  when  there  falleth  out  any  war, 
they  join  also  unto  our  enemies,  and  fight  against  us, 
and  so  get  them  up  out  of  the  land:  Therefore  they 
did  set  over  them  task-masters  to  afflict  them  with 
their  burdens: — and  they  made  their  lives  bitter  with 
hard  bondage,  in  mortar,  and  in  brick,  and  in  all  man- 
ner of  service  in  the  field;  all  their  service,  wherein 
they  made  them  serve,  was  with  rigour." — Strange 
that  such  eminent  services  as  Joseph  had  rendered  to 
the  state,  not  only  during  the  seven  years  of  famine, 
whicli,  but  for  his  agency,  would  probably  have  de- 
populated the  kingdom,  but  during  an  administration 
of  eighty  years,  including  the  reign  of  four  or  five 
monarchs,  should  have  been  forgotten,  within  the 
space  of  half  a  century,  from  the  death  of  that  distin- 
guished statesman  and  philanthropist!  Such  is  the 
ingratitude  of  the  world,  the  fickleness  of  popular  fa- 
vour, and  the  depravity  of  the  human  heart.  Cupi- 
dity and  selfishness  often  impel  men  to  measures  of 
cruelty  and  injustice,  while  the  claims  of  humanity 
and  brotherly  kindness  are  utterly  disregarded.  <*  It 
is  better  to  trust  in  the  Lord,  than  to  put  confidence 
in  princes."  But  this  new  king  was  a  shallow  poli- 
tician. The  children  of  Israel  were,  now,  very  nume- 
rous; and,  by  his  own  acknowledgment,  the  fruits  of 
their  industry  contributed,  not  a  little,  to  the  welfare 
of  his  kingdom.  He  expresses  a  fear,  that  they  might, 
by  and  by,  "  get  them  up,"  and  leave  the  country. 
He  had  no  wish  to  get  rid  of  them;  for  they  were  good 
workers,  and  productive  labour  is  national  strength. 
If,  therefore,  he  had  any  doubts  concerning  his  ability 
to  keep  them  in  due  subjection,  he  ought  to  have  for- 
borne all  steps  which  might  incense  their  indignation, 
and  provoke  them  to  try  their  own  strength.  Had  he 
treated  them  well,  and  been  a  father  to  them,  as 
Joseph  had  been  to  the  Egyptians  aforetime,  they 
would  soon  have  filled  the  treasure-cities,  Pithom  and 


204  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

Raamses;  which  seem  to  have  been  designed  as  store- 
houses, to  catch  the  ])roceeds  of  theh'  liard-earnuigs, 
for  the  use  and  aggrandizement  of  the  government. 
But,  to  place  task-masters  over  them,  to  watch  them 
with  a  jealous  eye,  and  to  exact  from  them  the  per- 
formance of  tasks  that  were  exorbitant  and  oppressive, 
was  not  to  '^deal  wisely  with  them,''  even  according 
to  the  wisdom  that  is  earthly  and  sensual.  Such  a 
course  of  treatment  would  naturally  tend  either  to 
break  down  the  spirits  and  impair  the  physical  strength 
of  these  people,  and  thus  diminish  their  usefulness  to 
the  state — or,  to  exasperate  them — to  alienate  their 
patriotic  feeUngs,  and  prepare  them  for  revolt  and 
violence,  whenever  an  opportunity  might  offer.  This 
was  bad  policy; — it  was  wicked  and  short-sighted:  it 
grasped  at  too  much;  and  in  so  doing,  it  risked,  and 
eventually  lost  all.  This,  or  something  very  like  this, 
is  the  policy  which  some  men,  in  our  own  times, 
would  pursue  towards  that  hapless  portion  of  the 
African  race,  that  have  been  doomed  to  slavery  from 
generation  to  generation.  They  would  "deal  wisely 
with  them"  by  keeping  them  in  ignorance,  the  more 
profound  the  better,  and  by  making  them  "serve, 
with  rigour;"  so  as  to  "render  their  lives  bitter  with 
hard  bondage,"  lest  they  should  presume  to  think  of 
their  natural  rights,  and  "so  get  them  up  out  of  the 
land"  of  their  oppressors.  "  The  righteous  Lord 
loveth  righteousness;"  and  the  day  is  coming,  when 
the  God  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh  will  look  upon  the 
children  of  Ham,  as  he  did  upon  the  children  of  Israel, 
to  redeem  them  from  their  "  hard  bondage,"  and  that, 
if  need  be,  with  a  high  hand,  and  an  outstretched 
arm.  Let  the  nations  prepare  to  yield  prompt  obedi- 
ence to  his  high  and  holy  behest. 

The  oppressive  counsels  of  Pharaoh,*  though  adopt- 
ed and  carried  into  effect  with  unrelenting  severity, 
did  not  succeed.  The  good  hand  of  the  Lord  was 
about  the  house  of  Israel,  and,  therefore,  "  the  more 
they  were  afflicted,  the  more  they  multiplied  and 
grew."     But  the  tyrant,  bent  on  the  accomplishment 

*  There  was  a  succession  of  Pharaohs. 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  205 

of  his  base  and  barbarous  purpose,  resorts  to  otlier, 
and  still  more  infamous  measures.  Those  persons 
who  practised  the  obstetrick  art,  were  charged  under 
pain  of  the  royal  displeasure,  and  perhaps,  with  a 
promise  of  large  rewards,  to  put  every  male  child  of 
the  Hebrews,  which  they  assisted  in  bringing  into 
the  world,  immediately  to  death.  Two  individuals, 
of  that  useful  profession  are  particularly  mentioned, 
viz  :  Shiphrali  and  Puah,  on  account,  probably,  of 
their  influence  and  distinction  in  the  line  of  their  busi- 
ness. But  the  venerable  matrons,  it  seems,  feared 
God,  and  therefore  regarded  not  the  unrighteous 
mandate  of  the  king:  and,  in  consequence,  it  is  said, 
that  "God  dealt  well  with  them;  and  the  people  mul- 
tiplied and  waxed  very  mighty."  The  sense  of  this 
passage  is  plain  enough;  "They  that  walk  uprightly 
shall  not  want  any  good  thing.''  But  it  is  added, 
"And  it  came  to  pass,  because  the  midwives  feared 
God,  that  he  made  them  houses."  The  meaning  of 
this  place  appears,  at  first  glance,  somewhat  obscure: 
But  taking  into  view  the  circumstances  of  the  case, 
and  comparing  scripture  with  scripture,  we  have  no 
hesitation  in  saying  that  the  true  import  is,  That  God 
blessed  and  built  up  [\ie  families,  not  only  of  the  mid- 
wives,  but  of  the  people,  generally;  houses  being 
taken,  Aere,  as  in  numerous  other  texts,  for  house- 
holds. "  Godliness  is  profitable  unto  all  things;  hav- 
ing promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  and  of  that  which 
is  to  come." 

But  the  remorseless  monarch  will  leave  no  expe- 
dient untried  to  effect  his  inhuman  design.  Finding 
private  menaces  and  bribery  unavailing,  he  had  re- 
course to  a  public  edict,  which  stamped  his  reign  with 
eternal  infamy.  "And  Pharaoh  charged  all  his  peo- 
ple, saying,  Every  son  that  is  born  ye  shall  cast  into 
the  river,  and  every  daughter  ye  shall  save  alive." 
Under  the  operation  of  this  bloody  decree,  on  which 
we  offer  no  comment,  was  born  Moses,  the  historian 
of  the  world,  the  Heaven-taught  deUverer  and  law- 
giver of  the  house  of  Israel.  Had  the  statute  just 
cited  continued  in  force  any  considerable  length  of 
18 


20G  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

time,  it  must  have  given  a  serious  check  to  the  pro- 
gress of  population  among  the  Hebrews.  But  its  day 
was  brief.  It  was  too  violent  to  be  long  tolerated. 
It  was  a  mere  ebulhtion  of  despotic  rancour,  soon 
discharged,  and  consigned  to  merited  contempt.  It 
must  have  been  enacted  subsequently  to  the  birth  of 
Aaron,  who  was  but  three  years  older  than  Moses; 
and  several  circumstances,  taken  in  connexion  with 
the  silence  of  history  concerning  it,  warrant  the  con- 
clusion that  it  was  rescinded  not  long  after  JNIoses 
was  born. 

In  the  extraordinary  preservation  of  this  JNIoses, 
amid  the  perils  that  encompassed  his  birth  and  early 
childhood,  we  may  see,  and  we  ought  to  acknow- 
ledge religiously,  the  hand  of  God  revealed  and  ex- 
erted to  prepare  the  way  for  the  deliverance  of  his 
people,  and  for  the  maintenance  of  his  truth  and  hon- 
our to  the  end  of  time.  The  scheme  of  Providence 
is  vast  and  comprehensive.  Every  thing  in  the  di- 
vine plan  has  its  use  and  bearing  in  the  great  and 
gracious  work  of  redemption  by  Jesus  Christ.  It  is 
by  the  church  that  Jehovah  designs  to  show  his 
manifold  wisdom  to  the  inhabitants  of  heaven  and 
earth.-  On  this  blessed  object  of  divine  care  and 
everlasting  love  let  us  keep  our  attention  mainly 
fixed,  while  we  mark  cursorily  the  coincident  events 
and  concurrent  agencies  employed  by  a  wonder- 
working Providence,  to  save  and  rear  up  the  He- 
brew infant,  that  was  destined  to  write  the  Penta- 
teuch and  to  become  a  temporal  saviour  of  the  visible 
church. 

Moses  was  a  descendant  of  Levi,  Jacob's  third  son, 
as  well  on  his  mother's  as  on  his  father's  side.  Ani- 
ram  and  Jochebed  were  cousins;  and  they  had  pro- 
bably been  brought  up  in  the  nurture  aud  admoni- 
tion of  the  Lord.  So  far  as  their  characters  are  made 
known  to  us,  they  appear  amiable  and  pious.  They 
seem  to  have  had  at  least  a  strong  natural  affection 
for  their  offspring;  and  it  must  have  been  a  sore  trial 
to  them  to  have  a  son  born  under  the  murderous 
decree  which  consigned  every  male  child  to  a  watery 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  207 

grave.  Let  us  be  thankful  for  the  blessings  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty; — that  we  are  subject  to  the  ca- 
price of  no  ambitious  tyrant — that  we  are  permitted 
to  dwell  together  in  families,  as  heirs  of  the  grace  of 
life — that  no  sanguinary  laws  demand  our  children — 
and  that  no  popish  decretal  can  wrest  from  us  our 
Bibles,  or  disturb  our  ecclesiastical  order,  is  owing  to 
the  distinguishing  goodness  of  the  great  Disposer  of 
all  things  and  all  events. 

There  seems  to  have  been  something  peculiarly 
engaging  in  the  infant  Moses,  which  encouraged  his 
mother  to  attempt  his  preservation  from  a  violent 
death.  ''When  she  saw  him,  that  he  was  a  goodly 
child,  she  hid  him  three  months."  There  may  have 
been  some  foundation  for  the  extravagant  fancies, 
which  the  Jewish  writers  advance  respecting  his  per- 
sonal beauty,  his  divine  countenance,  &:c.  But  the 
parents  were  influenced  by  higher  motives  than  those 
of  natural  affection  and  a  passionate  fondness  for  a 
beautiful  child.  They  had  respect  to  the  divine  pro- 
mise made  to  Abraham,  and  repeated  to  Jacob,  that 
their  nation  should  be  delivered  from  the  yoke  of 
bondage;  and  they  manifestly  indulged  a  hope  that 
this  infant  boy  might,  one  day,  become  an  agent  in 
effecting  their  national  redemption.  The  faith  of  God's 
elect  has  a  piercing  eye,  and  a  mighty  efiicacy.  It 
penetrates  the  darkest  clouds,  and,  in  that  strength 
which  "is  made  perfect  in  weakness,"  attempts  great 
things:  and  this  was  the  principle  that  prompted  to 
the  concealment  in  question,  though  the  act  must  have 
been  attended  with  the  most  imminent  danger  to  those 
who  were  concerned  in  it:  "By  faith,  Moses,  when 
he  was  born,  was  hid  three  months  of  his  parents, 
because  they  saw  that  he  was  a  proper  child ;  and 
they  were  not  afraid  of  the  king's  commandment." 

But,  at  the  end  of  three  months,  concealment  from 
the  malign  vigilance  of  Pharaoh's  mercenary  spies, 
became  impossible.  If  the  parents'  lives  were  not  in 
jeopardy,  they  must  have  been  in  fearful  expectation 
of  seeing  their  little  one  torn  from  their  embraces 
by  the  hand  of  violence,  and  subjected  to  peculiar 


2(XS  LECTURES    OX    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

torture,  ill  consequence  ot  iheir  too  adventurous  fond- 
ness, which  had  indicated  contempt  for  the  royal 
mandate.  What  then  is  to  be  done,  in  this  critical 
juncture?  Nature  feels  and  trembles;  but  she  is 
blind,  and  full  of  doubts.  Wliat  will  faith  suggest? 
What  ground  of  hope  can  she  discover,  in  so  dark 
and  distressing  a  case?  Will  .^AtMell  this  distracted 
mother  to  sit  down  and  await  the  salvation  of  God, 
without  the  use  of  any  further  means  to  save  her 
boy  from  impending  destruction?  No: — but  she  will 
leach  unskilful  hands  to  attempt  the  consiriiciion  of  a 
frail  bark,  in  which  the  precious  treasure  may  be  de- 
posited— in  which  it  may  doat,  for  a  little  season,  on 
the  watery  surface,  and  in  which  it  may,  peradven- 
iure.  be  wafted,  by  the  breath  of  prayer,  into  the 
hands  of  God,  and  be  saved  from  the  hands  of  the 
wicked.  "And  when  she  could  no  longer  hide  him. 
she  took  for  him  an  ark  of  bulrushes,  and  daubed  it 
with  slime  and  with  pitch,  and  put  the  child  therein: 
and  she  laid  it  in  the  dags  by  the  river's  brink :  and 
his  sister  stood  afar  od",  to  wit  what  would  be  done  to 
him.'* 

Hannah  More,  in  her  Sacred  Drama,  entitled,  "Mo- 
ses in  the  Bulrushes,"  has  furnished  a  comment  on 
this  touching  scene,  which  can  scarcely  be  surpassed. 
The  introduction,  here,  oi  a  ie'w  lines  of  her  beau- 
tiful description,  needs  no  apology. 

"  Since  the  dear,  fatal  raarn,  that  gave  him  birth, 
I  have  revoiv'ii  in  mj  distracted  mind 
Each  means  \o  save  his  life:  and  many  a  thoug-ht 
^*hicb  foDdnesss  prompted,  prudence  has  opposed 
As  perilcns  and  rash.     Witii  these  poor  hands 
I've  framed  a  little  ark  of  slender  reeds  ; 
With  pitch  and  siime  I  have  secured  the  sides. 
In  this  6ail  cradle  I  intend  to  lay 
My  little  helpless  infant,  and  expose  him 
Upon  the  banks  of  Nile. 

Tb  ftdl  of  danger  ! 
Tis  danger  to  expose,  and  death  to  keep  him. 
Yet,  O I  "reflect :  Shonkl  the  fierce  crocodile 
The  native,  and  the  tyrant  of  the  Xile, 
Seize  the  deiencele^  infant  1 1 

Know,  God  is  everywhere. 
Net  to  one  narrow,  partial  spot  confined ; 


LECTURE-j    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTOET.  209 

Xo — not  to  cboeen  Israel :  he  cxtentii 
Through  all  the  va*t  .    ~  of  space  : 

At  hii:  commaxid  the  :  :<estj  rise — 

The  blastings  of  the  hr-,.:  .  ..      =  di«pleasnre. 
He  tells  the  world  of  waters  when  to  roar  ; 
And,  at  his  bidding,  .vl    c's  ar.i  seas  are  cairn  : 
In  Him,  not  in  an  a:  I  tra*t : 

In //im,  whose  prom.  ..  has  fail'd, 

I  place  my  confidence.'' 

Observe  on  what  a  slender  thread  the  most  momen- 
tous events  seem,  in  human  view,  to  be  suspended. 
See  the  hope  of  Israel — their  future  Moses — their 
leader  and  lawgiver,  sleeping  among  the  fleigs  of  the 
Nile,  helpless,  and  quite  unconscious  of  the  dangers 
that  lurk  around  him.  Should  a  breath  of  wind 
arise — should  the  tide  prove  unpropitious — should 
some  hungry  monster  descry  the  reedy  cradle,  with 
its  feeble  occupant,  the  child  is  gone: — the  believing 
mother's  fond  expectations  are  disappointed,  and  the 
hard  servitude  of  Jacob's  hapless  children  must  con- 
tinue. But  not  so;  for  chance  is  but  a  name  of 
7jo//^z/2§' that  exists.  Providence  is  all:  and  all  effi- 
cient, to  guard  the  falling  sparrow,  and  protect  the 
Hebrew  infant; — to  guide  the  floating  atom,  and  to 
poise  the  rolling  wor.ds. 

Bur  this  child  of  many  prayers,  and  flattering  pro- 
mise, must  perish  for  want  of  nourishment  if  not 
speedily  relieved,  even  if  the  winds  and  waves  and 
crocodiles  should  spare  him.  True:  but  it  is  Hea- 
ven's purpose  to  send  him  seasonable  deliverance. 
And  now,  let  us  mark,  in  the  means  employed  for 
his  relief,  a  concurrence  of  volitions  and  movements 
of  various  and  opposite  agents,  which  distinctly  be- 
speaks the  presence  and  power  of  a  divine  hand. 
Jochebed  and  Miriam,  Pharaoh's  daughter  and  her 
train  of  maidens — the  tide,  the  wind,  the  weather, 
the  place  of  the  exposure,  and,  even  the  hour  of  the 
day,  must  all  cooperate  to  save  him  whom  the  Lord 
designs  to  employ,  as  an  instrument  in  accomplishing 
the  counsels  of  his  will,  and  the  purposes  of  his  im- 
mutable love.  The  princess  comes  to  the  nver's 
brink,  precisely  at  the  right  time — the  ark  is  discov- 
18* 


^10  LECTURES    OX    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

ered — it  is  opened — the  babe  weeps — the  heart  of 
compassion  is  moved,  and  instantly  takes  the  resolu- 
tion to  adopt  the  foundling: — by  means  of  the  sister's 
interposition,  supposed  to  be  incidental,  the  child  is 
restored  to  the  arms  of  its  own  mother  to  be  nursed 
as  an  Egyptian  prince.  "  The  name  Moses,  which 
signifies  drawn  out.  is  given  him,  as  a  memorial  of 
his  wonderful  deUverance;  and,  in  process  of  time,  he 
appears  at  court,  as  the  adopted  son  of  the  king's 
daughter,  and  receives  an  education  suitable  to  this 
elevated  rank;"  and,  what  is  worthy  of  special  notice, 
qualifying  him,  so  far  as  human  learning  can  go,  for 
the  high  and  responsible  otfices  of  leader  and  law- 
giver to  the  house  of  Israel. 

In  concluding  this  brief  account  of  the  birth  and 
preservation  of  Moses,  let  us  notice  and  admire  the 
providence  of  God,  in  providing  for  the  exigencies 
of  his  church  and  people.  No  weapon  can  prosper 
against  Zion.  Her  glorious  Lord  and  King  reigns 
over  all.  His  power  and  wisdom  are  infinite — his 
truth  and  covenant  engagements  are  steadfast  and 
infallible.  Let  us  remember  this  in  reference  to  our 
personal  salvation:  as  also,  in  reference  to  the  spread 
of  the  gospel,  and  the  ultimate  triumphs  of  redeem- 
ing grace.  The  Lord's  arm  is  revealed,  and  the  na- 
tions are  feeling  more  and  more  sensibly,  its  gracious 
subduing  power.  The  heathen  are  given  to  Christ 
for  an  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth  for  a  possession.  ••  He  shall  prolong  his  days — 
he  shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul  and  be  satis- 
fied!" "Ail  flesh  shall  see  the  salvation  of  our  God. 
The  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  it." 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  211 


LECTURE  XXII 


M05ES   FLEES    IXTO    MIDIAX. 


Who  made  thee  a  prince  and  a  judge  over  us?  Intendest  thou  to  kill 
me  as  thou  killedst  the  Egyptian  ?  And  Moses  feared,  and  said, 
surely  this  thing-  is  known.  Now  when  Pharaoh  heard  this  thing-, 
he  sought  to  slay  Moses:  but  Moses  fled  from  the  face  of  Pharaoh, 
and  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Midian. — Exod.  ii.  14-15. 

Our  last  lecture  concluded  with  the  introduction  of 
the  infant  Moses  to  the  palace  of  the  king  of  Egypt, 
as  the  adopted  son  of  the  king's  daughter.  The 
name  of  this  princess.  Josephus  tells  us,  was  Ther- 
mutis.  She  would  probably  continue  her  little  found- 
ling some  three  or  four  years  with  his  own  mother, 
who  by  a  wonderful  arrangement  of  Providence,  as 
we  have  seen,  was  employed  as  his  nurse.  In  Acts 
vii.  23,  we  are  told  that  "he  was  full  forty  years  old, 
when  it  came  into  to  his  heart  to  visit  his  brethren, 
the  children  of  Israel.''  Whence,  it  would  seem  that 
he  must  have  resided  at  court,  and  been  regarded  as 
a  member  of  the  royal  family,  for  the  space  of  about 
thirty-five  years.  Of  his  history,  or  of  the  manner  in 
which  he  spent  his  time,  during  this  period,  we  have 
no  information  in  the  sacred  Scripture.  Indeed,  the 
palaces  of  kings  are,  so  generally  scenes  of  vanity 
and  dissipation,  that  the  Spirit  of  God  seldom  fur- 
nishes us  with  any  details  concerning  them,  except 
so  far  as  may  be  necessary,  in  giving  a  just  view  of 
Providence,  in  relation  to  the  visible  church — the 
chosen  depository  of  the  truth  and  ordinances  of  Je- 
hovah. From  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  how- 
ever, and,  particularly,  from  Stephen's  declaration, 
Acts  vii.  22,  that  "  Moses  was  learned  in  all  the  wis- 
dom of  the  Egyptians,  and  was  mighty  in  words  and 


212  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

ill  deeds,"  we  conclude,  with  a  degree  of  certainty, 
that  he  was  occupied  chiefly,  during  the  period  just 
mentioned,  in  the  acquisition  of  science  and  htera- 
ture,  for  which  Egypt  was  at  that  time,  the  most  dis- 
tinguished country  in  the  world. 

And  here,  let  us  notice  and  admire  the  wisdom 
and  forecast  of  the  Almighty,  in  rendering  the  gene- 
rosity of  Thermutis  and  the  learning  of  Egypt  sub- 
servient to  the  accomplishment  of  his  own  great  and 
holy  purposes.  Moses  was  destined  to  arduous  and 
important  services.  He  was  to  stand  before  Pharaoh, 
and  plead  the  cause  of  his  oppressed  brethren,  the 
Israelites; — he  was  to  encounter  the  ignorance,  to 
remove  the  prejudices,  to  rally  the  sluggishness,  and 
reanimate  the  desponding  spirits  of  his  own  kindred, 
as  well  as  contend  with  the  craft,  the  power,  and  the 
malice  of  the  magicians: — to  lead  forth  a  multitude 
of  people,  amounting  to  more  than  a  million  of  souls, 
strongly  attached  to  the  place  of  their  servitude,  and 
much  inclined  to  murmuring  and  mutiny,  as  their 
history  abundantly  evinces.  He  was  to  act  as  a  tem- 
poral mediator  between  this  untoward  people  and 
their  covenant  God; — to  ofter  intercessions,  in  their 
behalf,  when  the  just  judgments  of  heaven  menaced 
them  for  their  grievous  offences; — and  to  receive  the 
law  of  the  Lord,  communicated  on  Mount  Sinai  "  by 
the  disposition  of  angels,"  and  publish  it,  with  its 
fearful  sanctions,  to  the  great  congregation.  He  was 
to  superintend  the  movements,  the  morals,  and  the 
religious  observances  of  this  vast  multitude,  during 
a  peregrination  of  forty  years  in  the  wilderness,  to 
which  they  were  subjected  by  a  righteous  Provi- 
dence, as  a  piece  of  discipline  preparatory  to  their 
taking  possession  of  the  promised  land.  These  were 
services  of  no  ordinary  importance; — services  of  ex- 
treme difficulty,  on  the  faithful  performance  of  which 
much  depended,  in  relation  to  the  glory  of  God  and 
the  happiness  of  mankind.  And,  although  the  Al- 
mighty can  work  without  means,  yet,  he  usually  em- 
ploys them;  and  when  he  is  pleased  to  make  use  of 
human  agents  in  the  execution  of  his  purposes,  he 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  213 

ordinarily  endows  them,  in  one  way  or  another,  with 
quahfications  proportioned  to  the  magnitude  and  ar- 
duoLisness  of  the  duties  to  which  they  are  called.  That 
Moses,  therefore,  might  be  qualified  for  the  duties  of 
his  station,  as  leader  and  lawgiver  of  the  house  of 
Israel,  the  only  wise  God  judged  it  proper  that  he 
should  have  an  extensive  acquaintance  with  the 
world,  and  possess  all  the  advantages  which  a  liberal 
education  could  aftbrd.  The  court  of  Egypt  is,  ac- 
cordingly, rendered  unwillingly  tributary  to  the  di- 
vine decree.  "  When  God  will  work,  who  can  let  it?" 
The  king's  daughter  is  foster-mother  to  the  Hebrew 
youth,  who  is  destined  to  subdue  the  power  of  her 
tyrannical  father,  and  rescue  the  church  of  God  from 
idolatry  and  bondage.  From  such  facts  as  this  let  us 
take  encouragement  to  cast  our  personal  cares  on  the 
Lord,  and  to  commend  to  his  wakeful  and  effective 
guardianship  the  interests  of  his  own  most  blessed 
cause.  No  weapon  formed  against  Zion  shall  pros- 
per, for  Jehovah  is  her  keeper;  and  he  is  ^'wonder- 
ful in  counsel,  and  excellent  in  working." 

"  When  JNloses  was  full  forty  years  old,  it  came  into 
his  heart  to  visit  his  brethren,  the  children  of  Israel." 
That  is — He  resolved  to  resign  the  pleasures  and 
splendour  of  the  court,  and  go  to  his  own  people, 
that  he  might  lighten  their  burdens,  and  share  v/ith 
them  in  the  blessings  of  the  covenant  made  with  their 
fathers.  This  determination  is  not  to  be  ascribed  to 
moroseness,  or  a  want  of  gratitude  to  his  generous 
patroness:  nor  can  it  be  accounted  for,  on  the  prin- 
ciples which  commonly  influence  mankind,  in  similar 
cases.  He  certainly  had  very  strong  inducements  of 
a  worldly  nature,  to  retain  his  place  m  the  household 
of  Pharaoh !  He  had  ease,  and  affluence,  and  royal 
favour;  and  if  the  statement  of  Josephus  and  other 
Jewish  writers  is  to  be  relied  on,  he  was  heir-appa- 
rent to  the  crown.  What  more  could  the  natural 
heart  desire?  On  the  other  hand,  in  going  to  his  bre- 
thren, he  must  have  counted  with  certainty  on  hard- 
ships, reproaches,  and  heavy  charges  of  ingratitude 
and  follv.     How  then  shall  we  account  for  his  con- 


214  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

duct  in  tills  matter?  By  referring  it  to  that  wonder- 
working principle  which  influenced  his  pious  parents 
to  *'hide  him  three  months,"  in  defiance  of  the  king's 
commandment; — the  principle  of  faith  in  the  divine 
testimony,  which  is  so  largely  celebrated  in  the  ele- 
venth chapter  of  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews:  "By 
faith  Moses,  when  he  was  come  to  years,  refused  to 
be  called  the  son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter,  choosing 
rather  to  suffer  affliction,  with  the  people  of  God, 
than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season — 
esteeming  the  reproach  of  Christ  greater  riches  than 
the  treasures  in  Egypt ;  for  he  had  respect  unto  the 
recompense  of  the  reward."  With  this  instructive 
instance  of  self-denial,  and  victorious  faith  before  us, 
let  us  pause,  and  inquire  whether  we  are  like-minded. 
Are  we  ready  to  sacrifice  all  worldly  advantages, 
which  maybe  incompatible  with  our  duty  to  God? 
In  what  estimation  do  we  hold  the  reproach  of  Christ  ? 
Are  we  prepared  to  take  up  our  cross,  and  follow 
him,  in  defiance  of  all  the  opposition  and  hindrances 
to  be  met  with  in  the  path  of  duty?  Let  us  not  for- 
get that  he  has  expressly  declared,  '^  If  any  man  love 
father  or  mother,  houses  or  lands  more  than  me,  he  is 
not  worthy  of  me:"  and  again,  "  whosoever  shall  be 
ashamed  of  me  and  of  my  words,  of  him  shall  the 
Son  of  man  be  ashamed,  when  he  shall  come  in  his 
glory,  and  the  glory  of  his  Father,  with  the  iioly 
angels." 

But  while  Moses  manifested  a  noble  superiority  to 
the  world,  and  a  commendable  zeal  for  God,  and  for 
the  welfare  of  his  afflicted  kindred,  we  cannot  but 
notice  in  his  first  attempt  to  avenge  their  wrongs,  and 
vindicate  their  cause,  a  precipitancy  and  violence 
altogether  unwarranted  and  blameworthy: — "Ob- 
serving an  Egyptian  smiting  an  Hebrew,  one  of  his 
brethren,  he  looked  this  way  and  that  way,  and  when 
he  Saw  that  there  was  no  man,  he  slew  the  Egyptian, 
and  hid  him  in  the  sand."  There  may  have  been 
mitigating  circumstances  attendant  on  this  act,  with 
which  we  are  not  made  acquainted.  Possibly  the 
Hebrew  was  slain  by  the  Egyptian;  and  in  that  case, 


LECTURES    ON    UIBLICAL    HISTORY.  215 

Moses  might  think  himself  antliorized  by  the  precept 
given  to  Noah,  concerning  manslaughter,  to  put  the 
murderer  to  death,  without  awaiting  the  regular  pro- 
cess of  law.  Yet,  as  tlie  narrative  is  given  in  the 
sacred  text,  he  does  appear  to  Iiave  been  conscious, 
that  the  act  was  wrong;  else  why  his  circumspection, 
his  "  looking  this  way  and  that  way,"  before  striking 
the  fatal  blow;  and  why  did  he  so  precipitately  bury 
the  body  of  the  Egyptian  in  the  sand?  The  truth  is, 
his  zeal  was  not  quite  according  to  knowledge; — he 
was  for  executing  judgment,  in  a  summary  way — he 
was  governed  too  much  by  feeling — he  ran — iie  rnsh- 
ed  forth  as  the  champion  of  his  father's  house,  before 
he  was  sent ; — for  he  had  not  yet  received  his  com- 
mission. Nor  were  his  own  people  disposed  to  second 
his  violent  measures;  his  assuming  a  power  wiiich  had 
not  been  conferred  upon  him,  tended  to  aleniate  their 
confidence,  and  awaken  their  jealousy.  Accordingly, 
when  he  went  out  the  second  day,  and  finding  two 
Hebrews  striving  together,  offered  his  counsel  and 
services  to  effect  a  reconciliation,  his  friendly  inter- 
ference was  rejected  with  indignation  and  reproach, 
which  he  must  have  felt  keenly:  "Who  made  thee  a 
prince  and  a  judge  over  us?  Intendest  thou  to  kill 
me,  as  thou  killedst  the  Egyptian?" 

From  this  historical  incident,  we  may  take  several 
useful  hints.  First,  we  learn  from  it  the  importance 
of  proceeding  with  caution  and  religious  prudence,  in 
all  our  enterprises  and  labours  of  love,  for  the  advance- 
ment of  truth  and  righteousness  among  mankind.  A 
man  may,  in  the  ardency  of  his  pious  zeal,  commence 
a  reformer — a  reprover  of  others — or  even  a  preacher 
of  the  word,  before  lie  is  called  of  God,  and  duly  quali- 
fied for  such  services.  Moses,  it  would  seem,  was  in 
this  respect,  forty  years  ahead  of  Providence  in  rei?ard 
to  the  deliverance  of  Israel  from  the  house  of  bondage. 
And  many  an  ardent,  and  well-meaning  minister  of 
Christ  has  begun  to  proclaim  the  glad  tidings,  with 
sanguine  hope  of  accomplishing  great  things  in  a  short 
time,  who,  like  Luther's  amiable  co-adjutor,  in  ''The 


216  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

Relormation,"  soon  learned,  from  experience,  that 
*'  Old  Adam  is  too  strong  for  yonng  Melancthon." 

Secondly,  the  narrating  of  the  fact,  that  Moses  slew 
an  Egyptian  in  an  unwarrantable  manner,  affords 
internal  evidence  of  no  equivocal  character,  that  the 
Bible  is  given  "  by  inspiration  of  God."  An  impos- 
tor, intending  to  impose  on  the  world  a  spurious  book, 
purporting  to  be  of  divine  origin,  would  never  have 
recorded  of  his  favourite  hero  an  act  so  exceptionable 
and  offensive  as  that  of  manslaughter;  committed,  too, 
with  evident  indications  of  conscious  criminality.  And 
allowing  that  Moses  himself  was  the  writer  of  this 
narrative,  do  not  such  instances  of  stern,  unsparing, 
and  impartial  faithfulness  as  that  in  question,  prove, 
beyond  all  reasonable  doubt,  that  he  considered  him- 
self as  under  bonds  of  a  divine  necessity,  (if  the  ex- 
pression may  be  used,)  to  tell  the  truth,  and  that  he 
wrote  indeed,  "as  he  was  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost?"  This  characteristic  of  simplicity  and  un- 
bending integrity  pervades  the  sacred  Scriptures;  and 
it  deserves  the  very  serious  consideration  of  those 
who  may  entertain  doubts  concerning  their  plenary 
inspiration. 

Thirdly,  from  the  failure  of  Moses'  first  attempt  to 
rescue  his  brethren  from  the  thraldom  of  Egypt,  we 
may  infer  that  various  qualifications  are  requisite  to 
fit  a  man  for  difficult  and  important  services  in  the 
church  of  God.  Human  learning  is  very  useful;  but 
this  alone  is  not  sufficient.  Deep  heart-felt  piety — 
some  acquaintance  with  human  nature,  and  a  strong 
sense  of  the  necessity  of  divine  direction  and  influ- 
ence, are  indispensable  to  our  success  and  accepta- 
bleness  in  the  work  of  the  Lord.  Moses,  though 
'•learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians,  and 
mighty  in  words  and  in  deeds,"  was  yet  rash,  self- 
confident,  and  quite  deficient  in  a  practical  knowledge 
of  mankind.  lie  had,  therefore,  to  remain  forty  years 
in  a  state  of  pupilage,  under  divine  tuition,  before  he 
could  enter  acceptably  upon  the  duties  of  the  high 
and  awful  office  for  which  he  was  designed.  The 
palace,  and  the  royal  seminaries  of  a  pagan  prince 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  217 

might  supply  great  advantages  for  the  attainment  of 
literature  and  polished  manners;  but  they  could  not 
be  favourable  to  one's  growth  in  grace,  and  in  the 
habits  of  devotion.  Earthly  wisdom  "  puffeth  up;'' 
but  "the  wisdom  which  is  from  above,  is  first  pure, 
then  peaceable,  gentle,  easy  to  be  entreated,  full  of 
mercy  and  good  fruits,  without  partiality,  and  with- 
out hypocrisy."  Many  a  laudable  undertaking  has 
been  marred  and  many  a  noble  enterprise  utterly 
ruined,  through  the  pride  or  self-sufficiency  of  agents 
employed  in  the  execution.  "Except  the  Lord  build 
the  house,  they  labour  in  vain  that  build  it."  The 
Lord,  therefore,  ought  to  be  acknowledged  in  all  our 
ways,  as  "'  the  giver  of  every  good  and  perfect  gift;" 
as  the  inspirer  of  all  good  thoughts,  and  the  efficient 
cause  of  all  success  in  "the  labours  of  love  and  the 
work  of  faith"  to  which  we  are  called.  In  striving 
for  the  heavenly  prize,  "a  man  is  not  crowned  except 
he  strive  lawfully." 

Finding  that  his  conduct,  in  slaying  the  Egyptian, 
had  not  only  disgusted  his  own  kindred,  but  exposed 
him  to  the  avenging  sword  of  civil  authority,  Moses 
"  retired  from  the  face  of  Pharaoh,  and  dwelt  in  the 
land  of  Midian ;" — a  small  district  in  Arabia  Petrea, 
east  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Mount  Sinai.  Here,  by  a  train  of  circumstances 
which  need  not  be  detailed,  he  got  introduced  to  the 
family  of  a  distinguished  personage,  the  priest  or 
prince  of  the  country,  who  seems  to  have  had  several 
names;  for  he  is  here  called  Reuel;  in  Ex.  iii.  1.  Je- 
thro;  in  Numb.  x.  29,  Raguel;  in  Judges  iv.  11,  Ho- 
bab;  and  Judges  i.  16,  Keyne,  translated  the  Kenite. 
This  prince  of  Midian  had  property,  as  was  usual  in 
those  times,  in  flocks  and  herds;  and  Moses  being 
"content  to  dwell  with  the  man,"  married  Zipporah, 
one  of  his  daughters,  who  bare  him  a  son  whom  he 
called  Gershom,  i.  e.  desolate  stranger;  for  said  he, 
**  I  have  been  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land." 

How  great  and  surprising  are  the  vicissitudes  of 
human  life  I  Here  is  that  Moses,  whose  preservation 
in  infancy,  cost  his  parents  every  thing  but  the  ago- 
19 


218  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

nies  of  death — in  whose  favour  divine  Providence 
linked  together  a  most  wonderful  concatenation  of 
propitious  occurrences — that  Moses,  who  was  rocked 
in  the  cradle  of  princely  munificence — named  and 
nurtured  by  a  king's  daughter — educated  in  the  most 
hberal  style,  as  presumptive  heir  to  the  sceptre  of  a 
mighty  monarchy — reduced  to  the  iiumble  station  of 
a  hired  shepherd,  "in  a  strange  land!"  He  had,  in- 
deed, voluntarily  sacrificed  his  flattering  prospects  of 
earthly  grandeur  to  the  cause  of  truth,  justice,  and 
godliness,  "accounting  the  reproach  of  Christ  greater 
riches  than  the  treasures  in  Egypt,  and  choosing 
rather  to  sutler  affliction  with  the  people  of  God  than 
to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin,  for  a  season:  but  in  one 
nngnarded  moment,  and  by  one  guilty  act  o(  iinhal- 
loived  and  7nis-judging  zeal,  he  lost  the  confidence  of 
his  father's  house,  destroyed  his  own  peace,  and  for- 
feited the  protection  of  public  law.  And  we  behold 
him,  710W,  sitting  weary  and  forlorn,  by  a  well  in 
^Nlidian,  and  then  tending  the  flock  of  Jethro,  as  a 
means  of  procuring  his  daily  bread.  But  though 
"cast  down,  he  is  not  forsaken."  True,  he  has  sin- 
ned; and  for  his  sin  he  is  visited  with  stripes;  but  the 
divine  purpose  concerning  him  is  not  altered.  He  is 
a  chosen  instrument  of  great  and  extensive  good.  He 
is  to  be  the  deliverer  and  lawgiver  of  Israel;  and  here 
he  is  placed  at  school,  where  he  is  to  make  large  at- 
tainments in  a  species  of  knowledge  more  needful 
than  that  which  he  had  mainly  acquired  about  the 
palace  in  Egypt; — a  knowledge  of  his  ow7i  heart, 
and  an  experimental  acquaintance  with  the  adoraf)le 
source  of  true  wisdom  and  sanctifying  grace.  Here, 
in  the  solitude  and  seclusion  of  a  pastoral  life,  he  will 
have  leisure  for  meditation  and  serious  reflection. 
He  will  call  to  mind  the  covenant  which  God  made 
witli  his  fathers,  and  ponder  well  its  import,  and  its 
ample  provisions; — he  will  retrace  the  history  of  his 
own  eventful  life,  marking  well  the  mercies  that  liave 
continually  attended  him,  and  sorrowing  after  a  godly 
sort  tor  the  sins  of  his  youth;  he  will  ascertain  his 
vulnerable  points,  and  learn  to  lean  less  to  his  own 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  219 

understanding,  and  to  trust  more  fnlly  and  fixedly  in 
the  Lord; — he  will  survey,  at  the  end  of  mortal  line, 
the  deep  and  mighty  designs  of  Providence; — he  will 
contemplate  iwprophctic  vision,  the  glories  oithat  seed 
of  Abraham,  in  ivhom  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  are 
to  be  blessed:  and  thus  he  will  be  prepared  to  stand 
before  Pharaoh  in  heavenly  panoply — to  march  at 
the  head  of  the  ransomed  tribes,  with  the  firmness 
and  fortitude  of  a  genuine  believer  in  the  divine  tes- 
timony, and  to  converse  with  Jeliovah  on  the  flaming 
mountain,  with  the  meek  and  lowly  confidence  of  a 
saint.  0  consecrated  school  of  affliction — blessed  po- 
verty— enviable  retreat,  from  the  fascinating  perils  of 
a  luxurious  and  dissipated  court!  Thus  may  we 
judge,  when  a  holy  Providence  sees  fit  to  reduce 
us — to  strip  us  of  earthly  comforts,  and  subject  us  to 
salutary  discipline;  to  heal  our  backslidings,  and  to 
teach  us  to  set  our  affection  on  things  above !  Only 
let  us  in  the  spirit  of  Moses,  forsake  all  for  Christ, 
and  instead  of  being  losers  we  shall  be  infinite  gain- 
ers. Though  we  fall,  we  shall  rise  again,  through 
the  power  of  redeeming  grace.  We  shall  go  from 
strength  to  strength,  till  in  the  issue  of  the  conflict  be- 
tween sin  and  holiness  we  shall  come  off  conquerors, 
and  more  than  conquerors,  through  him  that  loved 
us.  For  "who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of 
Christ?"  Shall  tribulation,  or  distress,  or  persecution, 
or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or  peril,  or  sword?  No: — 
*'  I  am  persnaded,  says  Paul  the  apostle,  that  neither 
death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  pow- 
ers, nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  height, 
nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature  shall  be  able  to 
separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord.'' 


220  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 


LECTURE  XXIir 


MOSES   RECEIVES   HIS  COMMISSION. 

Now,  therefore,  behold  the  cry  of  the  children  of  Israel  is  come  unto 
me,  and  I  have  seen  the  oppression  wherewith  the  Egyptians  op- 
press them :  Come  now,  therefore,  and  I  will  send  thee  unto  Pha- 
raoh, that  thou  mayest  bring  forth  my  people,  the  children  of  Israel, 
out  of  Egypt. — Exodus  iii.  9-10. 

The  forty  years,  which  Moses  spent  in  Midian,  was 
probably  the  happiest — certainly  the  most  tranquil 
portion  of  his  life.  Nor  did  he  spend  his  time  there, 
in  self-indulgence  or  sullen  indifference  about  the  in- 
terests of  humanity  and  religion.  To  the  family  of 
Jethro,  with  which  he  became  connected  by  mar- 
riage, he  seems  to  have  been  both  useful  and  agreea- 
ble. The  unaspiring  and  noiseless  occupation  of  a 
shepherd,  was  favourable  to  the  attainment  of  seve- 
ral qualifications  highly  necessary  to  fit  him  for  the 
arduous  and  awful  ministry,  which  he  was  designed 
to  execute.  He  appears  indeed  to  have  been  a  dili- 
gent and  successful  student  in  the  school  of  meek- 
ness; and  his  progress  in  the  divine  life  we  may  con- 
clude, was  rapid  and  delightful.  A  more  intimate 
acquaintance  with  his  own  heart,  and  a  deeper  sense 
of  dependance  on  God,  for  success  in  every  good  en- 
terprise, cured  and  chastened  that  self-confidence  and 
impetuosity  of  zeal,  which  had  impelled  him  to  com- 
mit that  act  of  violence  on  the  person  of  the  Egyp- 
tian, noticed  in  our  last  lecture,  and  which  occasioned 
his  flight  into  this  land  of  strangers.  How  admira- 
ble are  the  ways  of  Providence !  An  incident  which 
in  human  view  threatened  to  blast  the  hopes  of  the 


LECTURES    OX    BIBLICAL    HISTORY 


221 


pious,  who  were  sighing  for  the  redemption  of  Israel, 
and  to  defeat  the  kind  intentions  of  Moses  himself,  in 
regard  to  the  deliverance  of  his  kindred,  and  the 
church  of  God  from  the  yoke  of  bondage,  is  made 
ultimately  subservient,  in  a  very  eminent  degree,  to 
the  accomplishment  of  the  divine  purpose,  not  only 
towards  his  afflicted  people,  but  also  in  relation  to  a 
world  lying  in  ignorance  and  sin. 

In  the  happy  retirement  of  Midian,  while  tending 
the  flock  of  Jethro,  and  holding  intimate  converse 
with  his  God,  Moses  is  supposed  to  have  written  the 
book  of  Genesis — the  oldest,  and  excepting  the  other 
portions  of  sacred  Scripture  with  which  it  stands  on 
an  equal  footing,  the  most  entertaining  and  the  most 
important  record  on  earth — a  record  which  describes 
the  origin  of  men  and  visible  things;  which  sketches 
their  history  through  a  period  of  more  than  three  and 
twenty  centuries;  which  exhibits  a  righteous  Provi- 
dence directing  all  events;  which  announces  the  in- 
troduction and  desolations  of  sin,  and  at  the  same 
time  pourtrays  the  incipient  development  of  the  great 
and  glorious  redeeming  plan ;  a  record,  therefore, 
which  will  be  studied  and  quoted,  and  venerated  as 
an  infallible  oracle  while  the  world  stands.  The  other 
four  books  of  the  Pentateuch,  Moses  must  have  com- 
posed, during  the  remaining  forty  years  of  his  life, 
while  an  eye-witness  to,  and  prominent  agent  in  the 
transactions  which  he  describes. 

Let  not  those  who  are  placed  in  obscure  situations  iu 
life,  imagine  that  they  can  do  nothing  in  such  circum- 
stances, for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  benefit  of  man- 
kind. Let  them  call  to  mind  the  useful  labours  of 
Moses  in  Midian,  while  employed  as  a  hired  shepherd ; 
and  of  Paul  the  apostle  while  a  prisoner  at  Rome;  of 
John  (he  beloved  disciple,  when  banished  to  the  Isle 
of  Patmos,  and  of  a  host  of  others  who  counted  all 
things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of 
Christ  Jesus,  and  let  them  be  instant  in  prayer  for  the 
prosperity  of  Zion;  let  themybrm  and  execute,  so  far 
as  may  be  practicable,  benevolent  schemes  for  the 
promotion  of  truth  and  for  the  salvation  of  sinners.  If 
19* 


222  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

we  have  a  heai^t  to  the  work  we  shall  seldom  or 
never  be  without  opportunities  of  doing  good. 

Moses  was  happy  and  useful  in  retirement;  but 
the  time  had  now  arrived  when  he  was  to  enter  on 
the  duties  of  a  public  station  of  no  ordinary  import- 
ance. In  process  of  time,  the  sufterings  of  the  child- 
ren of  Israel  became  intolerable; — they,  therefore, 
cried  unto  the  Lord,  who  in  fulfilment  of  his  covenant 
with  their  fathers,  interposed  his  mighty  arm  for  their 
deliverance.  And  as  Moses  was  to  be  the  principal 
instrument  in  accomplishing  this  merciful  object,  the 
divine  will  was  made  known  to  him,  and  his  commis- 
sion furnished  and  sealed  in  a  very  extraordinary 
manner.  While  attending  the  flock  of  Jethro,  his  fa- 
ther-in-law, in  the  vicinity  of  Mount  Horeb,  "The 
angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  unto  him  in  a  flame  of 
fire  out  of  the  midst  of  a  bush;  and  he  looked,  and 
behold  the  bush  burned  with  fire,  and  the  bush  was 
not  consumed.  And  Moses  said,  I  will  now  turn 
aside  and  see  this  great  sight,  why  the  bush  is  not 
consumed:  And  when  the  Lord  saw  that  he  turned 
aside  to  see,  God  called  unto  him  out  of  the  midst  of 
the  bush  and  said — Moses,  Moses !  And  he  said,  Here 
am  I.  And  he  said.  Draw  not  nigh  hither;  put  ofl" 
thy  shoes  from  ofl"  thy  feet;  for  the  place  whereon 
thou  standest  is  holy  ground.  Moreover,  he  said,  I 
am  the  God  of  thy  father,  the  God  of  Abraham,  the 
God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob.  And  Moses  hid 
his  face;  for  he  was  afraid  to  look  upon  God." 

The  majesty  of  this  passage  bids  the  expositor  take 
heed,  with  what  intent  and  with  what  spirit  he  ap- 
proaches it.  Our  remarks  upon  it  shall  be  few  and 
cautious. 

The  personage  appearing  and  speaking  to  Moses, 
on  this  occasion,  is  called,  '•  the  angel  of  the  Lord, — 
the  Lord, — God, — and  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac, 
and  Jacob;"  whence  we  may  safely  conclude  that  it 
was  not  a  created  being,  inasmuch  as  three  of  the 
names  here  given  are  used  throughout  the  Scripture 
to  designate  the  Deity.  We  believe,  therefore,  that 
it  was  the  Son  of  God — Jehovah-Jesus  —  the  Cap- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  223 

tain  of  our  salvation — the  Messenger  of  the  cove- 
nant, in  whom  dwelt  the  fulness  of  the  godhead 
bodily,  that  appeared  in  the  burning  bush,  to  commis- 
sion the  man  Moses.  The  same  glorious  person  after- 
wards appeared  on  Mount  Sinai,  delivered  the  law 
to  Israel,  and,  upon  various  occasions,  in  revealing  his 
will  to  the  patriarchs,  assumed  a  visible  form  in  pro- 
phetical anticipation  of  his  actual  assumption  of  our 
nature,  in  the  fulness  of  time.  "  No  man  hath  seen 
God  at  any  time;  the  only  begotten  Son  which  is  in 
the  bosom  of  the  Father,  he  hath  declared  him:" — 
and  again,  *'  The  Father  himself,  which  hath  sent  me, 
hath  borne  witness  of  me.  Ye  have  neither  heard 
his  voice  at  any  time,  nor  seen  his  shape."  John  [.18; 
V.  37. 

The  symbol  used,  in  this  august  manifestation,  is 
the  most  appropriate  that  can  be  imagined.  ./^  bush 
in  flames  but  not  consumed.  How  aptly  expressive 
of  the  state  of  Israel  in  Egypt;  oppressed,  but  not  di- 
minished ;  of  the  church  of  God  in  every  age,  perse- 
cuted, but  not  forsaken;  and  of  the  believer  assailed 
by  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked  one,  but  sustained 
and  cheered  by  Christ  within  him,  the  hope  of  glory! 

In  this  truly  divine  scene,  we  are  admonished  not 
to  indulge  a  vain  curiosity,  by  prying  into  mysteries 
beyond  our  line;  but  in  all  our  religious  acts  and  ex- 
ercises, to  approach  the  Almighty  "  with  reverence 
and  godly  fear,  remembering  that  while  our  God  is 
Love  to  those  who  fear  him,  he  is  also  a  consuming 
fire  to  the  workers  of  iniquity.  When  Moses  would 
*'turn  aside'^  to  examine,  curiously,  "this  great 
sight,"  and  to  ascertain  if  possible,  why  the  fire  does 
not  consume  what  seems  to  be  combustible,  the  bush 
becomes  vocctl,  and  his  presumption  is  arrested: 
"Moses,  Moses! — Draw  not  nigh  hither;  put  off  thy 
shoes  from  off  thy  feet;  for  the  place  whereon  thou 
standest  is  ho/i/  ground.'"  Wherever  Jehovah  records 
his  name  and  manifests  his  glory,  there  the  ground  is 
holy;  and  there  it  behoves  his  professed  worshippers  to 
maintain  a  deportment  indicative  of  reverential  awe. 
Let  us  remember  this  when  we  enter  God's  house, 


224  LECTURES    OX    BIBLICAL  HISTORY. 

and  join  in  the  solemn  services  of  the  sanctuary. 
The  Lord  is  as  really^  though  less  sensibly,  in  the 
house  of  prayer,  as  he  was  in  the  bush  of  Horcb.  His 
word  and  ordinances  are  the  symbols  of  his  presence. 
Let  us  fear  before  him:  Let  us  listen  to  the  messages 
of  his  truth  and  grace  with  something  of  that  holy 
fear  which  covered  the  face  of  Moses,  when  accosted 
by  the  Holy  One  of  Israel.  "  Keep  thy  foot  when 
thou  goest  to  the  house  of  God,  and  be  more  ready  to 
hear  than  to  offer  the  sacrifice  of  fools,  for  they  con- 
sider not  that  they  do  evil." 

"  I  am  the  God  of  thy  father,  the  God  of  Abraham, 
the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob." — This  pas- 
sage our  Lord  cites,  Matt.  xxii.  32,  in  arguing  with  the 
Sadducees,  to  prove  the  immortality  of  the  soul  and  the 
resurrection  of  the  body,  from  the  writings  of  Moses, 
which  they  professed  to  receive  as  of  divine  authority. 
When  this  declaration  was  made,  the  patriarchs  named 
had  been  dead  some  hundred  years;  yet  Jehovah  was 
still  their  God.  Their  souls,  therefore,  existed  and  were 
happy  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  chief  good.  But  how 
does  this  saying  prove  the  resurrection  of  the  body? 
By  obvious  and  legitimate  inference;  thus — God  is 
the  eternal  and  unchangeable  portion  of  the  persons 
of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob ;  but  the  bodies  of  those 
good  men  are  constituent  and  essential  parts  of  their 
persons:  consequently,  their  bodies,  though  dissolved 
in  death  are  in  covenant  relation  with  God,  and  must 
of  course,  unless  the  divine  promise  fail,  be  raised 
up,  and  in  union  with  their  souls  be  admitted  to  "  the 
full  enjoyment  of  God  to  all  eternity."  With  those 
who  believe  the  Scripture,  and  admit  the  infinite 
power  of  God,  this  argument  is  conclusive  and  irre- 
sistible. In  the  New  Testament,  this  blessed  doctrine 
is  made  as  clear  and  indubitable,  as  words  of  truth 
and  acts  of  divine  efficiency  can,  perhaps,  make  any 
thing  of  the  kind.  May  a  firm  and  intelligent  belief 
of  it,  bring  solace  to  our  bleeding  hearts,  when  be- 
reaved of  beloved  relatives  and  friends.  If  the  Lord 
is  their  God,  and  our  God,  we  have  not  lost  them,  nor 
have  they  utterly  forsaken  us.      The  separation  is 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  225 

only  for  a  short  period.  Thoy  are  gone  before — and 
we  are  following  onward  to  our  Heavenly  Father's 
house,  where  we  shall  find  them  ready  to  receive  us 
into  everlasting  habitations:  "  For  we  know  that  if 
our  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle  were  dissolved, 
we  have  a  building  of  God,  a  house  not  made  with 
hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens." 

But  let  us  attend  to  the  investiture  of  Moses  in  the 
office  of  leader  and  lawgiver  of  the  house  of  Israel. 

"And  the  Lord  said,  I  have  surely  seen  the  afflic- 
tion of  my  people  which  are  in  Egypt,  and  have 
heard  their  cry,  by  reason  of  their  task-masters;  for 
I  know  their  sorrows:  and  I  am  come  down  to  de- 
liver them  out  of  the  liand  of  the  Egyptians,  and  to 
bring  them  up  out  of  that  land  unto  a  good  land,  and 
a  large,  unto  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey." 
The  God  of  mercy  and  truth  never  loses  sight  of  his 
people.  In  their  deepest  distresses  his  eye  is  on  them 
for  good,  and  his  ears  are  open  to  their  cries.  And, 
although  his  presence  fills  immensity,  yet  in  address- 
ing himself  to  man,  he  speaks  after  the  manner  of 
man,  that  he  may  be  understood  and  gain  attention. 
Hence  he  is  here  represented  as  moved  with  compas- 
sion, and  coming  out  of  his  holy  place  to  break  the 
rod  of  the  oppressor,  and  rescue  the  prey  from  the 
hand  of  the  mighty.  Canaan,  though  at  present  a 
barren  wretched  country,  owing  chiefly  to  the  joint 
and  baleful  influence  of  ignorance,  wickedness  and 
despotism,  was  once  a  delightful  region  ;  and  though 
at  no  time  so  large  as  Pennsylvania,  it  might  be  called 
a  large  land  in  comparison  of  Goshen,  the  place  of 
Israel's  bondage.  Floods  of  milk  and  honey  are  the 
similitudes  employed  to  designate  its  luxuriance.  To 
this  promised  and  most  desirable  land,  Israel  is  to  be 
conducted  ;  and  the  ministry  of  Moses  is  demanded 
to  break  otf  their  fetters,  and  to  superintend  their  re- 
moval: "Come  now,  therefore,"  saith  the  Lord,  still 
speaking  from  the  midst  of  the  mystic  fire,  "  and  I 
will  send  thee  unto  Pharaoh  that  thou  mayest  bring 
forth  my  people,  the  children  of  Israel,  out  of  Egypt." 
Here  is  a  call  of  God  so  distinct,  as  to   be  easily  un- 


226  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

derstood;  and  proclaimed  in  circumstances  so  awfully 
impressive,  lliat  one  would  think  it  must  have  been 
instantly  obeyed.  Yet  Moses  hesitates  and  alleges 
several  excuses  for  wishing  to  decline  the  charge. 
What  a  change  has  taken  place  in  his  mind; — how 
different  his  views  on  this  subject,  from  what  they 
were  formerly.  Some  forty  years  before,  he  was  for 
going  ahead  of  Providence.  He  sallied  forth  as  the 
champion  of  his  kindred,  and  as  the  minister  of  their 
deliverance,  without  any  call  except  what  he  made 
out  of  his  own  vague  impressions,  encouraged  per- 
haps by  the  suggestions  and  guesses  of  some  zealous 
friends.  Now  we  see  him  shrinking  from  the  mighty 
undertaking,  with  a  diflidence  and  timidity  bordering 
on,  if  not  actually  partaking  of,  unbelief  and  rebel- 
Uous  obstinacy.  Let  us  hear  his  objections  and  ob- 
serve how  completely  they  are  removed  by  the  voice 
from  the  burning  bush. 

"And  Moses  said  unto  God,  who  am  I,  that  I  should 
go  unto  Pharaoh,  and  that  I  should  bring  forth  the 
children  of  Israel  out  of  Egypt!" — This  language  in- 
dicates a  deep  sense  of  his  unworthiness  as  well  as 
insufficiency  for  the  arduous  task.  It  was  fit  and 
proper  that  he  should  feel  thus;  but  if  the  arms  of 
his  hands  be  made  strong  by  the  mighty  God  of 
Jacob,  he  will  be  enabled  to  do  valiantly,  and  the 
force  of  this  objection  will  be  removed.  Here  then 
follows  a  promise  of  all  needful  support  and  assist- 
ance:— "Certainly  I  will  be  with  thee."  That  is — I 
will  not  send  thee  unfurnished  for  this  difficult  ser- 
vice;— I  will  accompany  thy  exertions  by  a  blessing, 
and  by  an  energy  that  shall  be  effectual:  only  believe 
my  word  and  trust  my  power,  "  nothing  doubting." 
He  who  goes  forth  at  the  divine  command,  and  with 
an  express  promise  of  all-sufficient  aid,  one  would 
think  might  enter  on  any  service,  however  perilous, 
with  confidence  and  fearless  intrepidity.  That  which 
is  called  a  token  in  the  latter  clause  of  this  promise, 
is  to  be  considered  as  addressed  to  the  faith,  not  to 
the  sensesof  Moses:— "  When  thou  hast  brought  forth 
the  people  out  of  Egypt,  ye  shall  serve  God  upon  this 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  227 

As  if  it  had  been  said — You  shall  ac- 
coinpUsh  the  business  on  which  I  send  you — I  will 
bear  you  through  all  difficulties — you  shall  return  in 
safety  with  my  people  to  this  place;  and  here  I  will 
meet  with  you  to  bless  you,  and  to  accept  your  hom- 
age and  grateful  acknowledgment  of  my  power  and 
and  faithfulness.  Still,  Moses  is  slow  to  believe;  ac- 
cordingly one  objection  being  removed  he  takes  re- 
fuge in  another,  derived  from  the  ignorance  and  stu- 
pidity of  the  people. 

"  When  I  come  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  and 
shall  say  unto  them,  The  God  of  your  fathers  hath 
sent  me  unto  you  ;  and  they  shall  say  to  me.  What  is 
his  name?  what  shall  I  say  unto  them?" — If  there  was 
any  foundation  for  this  alleged  difficulty,  it  gives  a 
gloomy  idea  of  the  state  of  religion  among  the  Israel- 
ites at  that  time.  It  represents  them  as  having  forgot- 
ten the  names  and  titles  of  the  true  God.  This  seems 
incredible;  for  Joseph  had  not  been  dead  but  about 
a  hundred  and  forty-four  years:  and  during  his  life- 
time they  would  certainly  be  protected  and  encour- 
aged in  the  observance  of  their  religious  rites  and  or- 
dinances. The  timid  imagination  of  Moses,  which 
probably  suggested  to  him  this  objection,  may  be  sup- 
posed to  have  given  a  strong  colouring  to  the  picture 
of  their  moral  degradation.  It  is  manifest,  however, 
that  the  circumstances  of  this  people  changed  very 
soon,  and  very  much  for  the  worse,  after  the  death  of 
Joseph.  Their  burden  increased  daily — and  it  is 
quite  likely  that  their  task-masters  would  not  allow 
them  even  the  weekly  Sabbaih  for  religious  duties. 
They  were  moreover,  surrounded  by  idolaters  and  ac- 
customed to  hear  the  names,  and  witness  the  impure 
rites  pertaining  to  the  worship  of  a  multitude  of  gods, 
falsely  so  called.  In  such  circumstances  they  must 
have  degenerated  rapidly; — the  few  good  things  that 
remained  among  them,  were  ready  to  die;  which  con- 
spired, with  various  other  considerations,  to  evince  the 
necessity  of  their  speedy  removal  from  the  foul  and 
contagious  intluence  of  the  abominations  of  Egypt. 
To  confirm  the  faitii  of  his  doiibling  servant,  and  to 


22S  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

remove  the  fears  which  arose  from  this  quarter,  God 
proclaims  himself  by  a  7iame  not  heretofore  men- 
tioned in  sacred  Scripture;  "1  Am  that  I  Am: — Thus 
shalt  thou  say  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  I  Am  hath 
sent  me  unto  you/'  This  title  implies  the  incommu- 
nicable attributes  of  the  glorious  Godhead — Eter- 
nity, imniiitabillfy,  independence,  and  nnderived, 
unrivalled,  and  indescribable  majesty.  An  attempt 
at  exposition  here,  would  be  presumption:  all  that 
we  can  say,  is,  that  Jehovah  is,  and  will  be  what 
he  is.  Go,  then,  Moses,  in  the  name  of  the  King 
Eternal,  Immortal,  and  Invisible; — bring  forth  his 
chosen  people,  that  they  may  be  organized,  and  con- 
secrated, as  the  keepers  of  his  oracles  and  covenant, 
to  be  made  known  in  due  time  to  "earth's  remotest 
bounds."  And  lest  they  should  be  dismayed  at  the 
proclamation  of  this  new  and  august  title,  assure 
them  that  the  Lord  God  of  their  fathers,  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob,  has  sent  you  to  bring  them  up  out 
of  the  affliction  of  Egypt,  unto  a  land  flowing  with 
milk  and  honey:  Go,  and  they  5i^«// hearken  to  your 
voice.  Go  to  Pharaoh — urge  my  claim — exhibit  your 
commission,  authenticated  by  my  seal;  and,  although 
I  am  sure  he  will  not  yield,  except  by  a  mighty  hand, 
yet  you  shall  see  his  power  crushed  by  an  out-stretch- 
ed arm;  for  I  will  do  wonders  in  Egypt,  and  after 
that  he  will  let  you  go:  Nor  shall  you  come  forth 
empty; — I  will  give  this  people  favour  in  the  sight  of 
the  Egyptians,  whom  I  will  constrain  to  supply  you, 
not  only  with  raiment  and  other  articles  needful  for 
the  journey,  but  with  jewels  of  silver  and  jewels  of 
gold;  and  ye  shall  put  them  upon  your  sons,  and  upon 
your  daughters;  and  ye  shall  spoil  the  Egyptians. 
Strange,  that  Moses  should  still  hesitate,  and  indulge 
his  unbelieving  fears!  But  so  it  is — "Behold,  said 
he,  they  will  not  believe  me,  nor  hearken  unto  my 
voice."  Here  is  something  worse  than  excessive 
timidity.  Mark,  now,  the  condescension  and  pa- 
tience of  the  High  and  Lofty  One!  Two  sensible 
tokens,  altogether  of  a  miraculous  nature,  are  vouch- 
safed to  secure  the  faith,  and  animate  the  courage  of 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    lIISTORr.  229 

this  weak,  and  we  might  perhaps  say,  skeptical  be- 
Uever: — tiie  shepherd's  crook  is  clianged  into  a  ser- 
pent, and  re-converted  into  a  rod;  and  one  of  his 
hands  is  made  '"leprous  as  snow,"  and  instantly 
"turned  again  as  his  other  flesh:"  nay,  more — he 
is  endowed  with  the  power  of  turning  water  into 
hlood;  and  yet  he  doubts,  and  begs  to  be  excused 
under  a  new  plea; — "  0  my  Lord,  I  am  not  eloquent, 
I  am  slow  of  speech,  and  of  a  slow  tongue."  And 
when  it  is  intimated  that  the  Creator  of  man's  mouth 
can,  if  necessary,  make  his  tongue  fluent,  still  he 
})leads;  '•  0  my  Lord,  send,  I  pray  thee,  by  the  iiand 
of  him  whom  thou  wilt  send!"  Here  "  the  anger  oj 
the  Lord  was  kindled  against  Moses,"  and  he  was 
no  doubt,  rebuked  for  his  obstinate  incredulity,  and 
backwardness  to  obey  the  voice  of  the  Lord;  but 
after  all,  he  is  not  abandoned.  To  satisfy  his  doubts, 
as  it  would  seem,  and  to  furnish  him  with  a  useful 
and  pleasant  colleague,  his  brother  Aaron,  distin- 
guished for  eloquence,  is  put  in  the  commission  with 
him;  and  now  tlie  two  brotiiers,  relying  on  the  Divine 
promise  for  all  needful  support,  go  forth  in  the  Lord's 
name  to  break  the  yoke  of  the  oppressor,  and  bring 
their  brethren,  of  the  house  of  Israel,  into  the  land  of 
promise. 


LECTURE  XXIV. 

MIOSES  AND  AARO.V   niOCEED   TO  EXECUTE   TFIEIR  COMMISSION. 

And  Moses  and  Aaron  did  as  the  Lord  commanded  them,  so  did  they: 
and  Moses  was  fourscore  years  old,  and  Aaron  fourscore  and  three 
years  old  when  they  spake  unto  FIjaraoh. — Exodus  vii.  6,  7. 

In  the  preceding  lecture,  we  noticed  the  appointment 
of  INIoses  to  the  oflice   of  leader  and   law-giver   of 
Israel,  and  some  of  the  circumstances  connected  with 
20 


230  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

his  designation  to  that  arduous  and  important  service. 
Before  we  attend  him  at  the  opening  of  his  commis- 
sion in  the  presence  of  Pharaoh,  and  in  the  execution 
or  his  awful  functions  as  Jehovah's  ambassador  to 
that  haughty  monarch,  an  occurrence  which  took 
place  on  his  way  to  Egypt  claims  some  attention,  as 
well  on  account  of  the  obscurity  which  hangs  about 
it,  as  for  the  practical  lesson  which  it  seems  to  have 
been  designed  to  teach.  The  occurrence  alluded  to 
is  related  in  these  words; — "  And  it  came  to  pass  by 
the  way  in  the  inn,  that  the  Lord  met  him,  (i.  e.  Moses,) 
and  sought  to  kill  him.  Then  Zipporah  took  a  sharp 
stone,  and  cut  off  the  foreskin  of  iier  son,  and  cast  it 
at  his  feet,  and  said,  Surely  a  bloody  husband  art 
thou  to  me.  So  he  let  him  go:  then  she  said,  a 
bloody  husband  thou  art,  because  of  the  circumci- 
sion."— Without  staying  to  cite  the  various  conjec- 
tures of  commentators  on  this  obscure  passage  of 
sacred  Scripture,  we  would  remark  upon  it — that 
Moses  appears  from  some  cause  or  otiier,  (perhaps 
in  compliance  with  his  wife's  prejudice  against  the 
rite,)  to  have  neglected  the  circumcision  of  one  of  his 
sons.  For  this  violation  of  the  Abrahamic  covenant, 
which  required  that  every  man-child  should  be  cir- 
cumcised, at  eight  days  old,  on  pain  of  being  cut  off 
from  his  people,  (Gen.  xvii.  9-14,)  the  Lord's  dis- 
pleasure was  manifested  against  Moses,  in  some  very 
distressing  manner.  Hereupon  Zipporah,  moved  by 
fear,  and  finding  her  husband  rendered  incapable  of 
attending  to  the  duty,  performed  tlie  external  rite 
with  a  sharp  instrument  made  of  a  species  of  stone 
susceptible  of  a  keen  edge,  and  frequently  used  in 
such  operations.  The  commanded  duty  being  thus 
complied  with,  the  token  of  divine  displeasure,  what- 
ever it  may  have  been,  was  removed;  and  Moses  was 
permitted  to  proceed  on  his  journey.  The  speech  and 
behaviour  of  Zipporah  on  the  occasion,  indicated  a 
high  degree  of  petulance,  if  not  of  contempt  for  sacred 
things.  "A  bloody  husband  art  thou  to  me,  because 
of  the  circumcision,"  was  a  declaration,  which  not 
only  betrayed  great  disrespect  for  her  husband,  but 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  231 

evidently  involved  a  reproachfnl  reflection  on  liis  re- 
ligion. Such  a  querulous-tempered  woman  would 
probably  be  neither  contented  in  her  own  mind,  nor 
helpful  to  INIoses  in  the  difficult  business  upon  which 
he  was  going  to  Egypt.  We  may  conclude,  there- 
fore, from  this  circumstance,  taken  in  connexion  with 
what  is  related,  Ex.  xviii.  1,  &c.,  that,  by  consent  of 
all  parties  concerned,  Zipporah  and  her  two  sons, 
Gershom  and  Eliezer,  went  back  to  the  paternal 
dwelling  of  Jethro,  under  whose  care  they  remained 
till  Moses,  at  the  head  of  the  ransomed  tribes,  returned 
in  holy  triumph  to  the  mount  of  God. 

The  practical  lesson  suggested  by  this  singular  piece 
of  history  is,  that  we  should  be  careful  to  perform 
every  known  duty  in  its  proper  season.  No  pressure 
of  worldly  business,  no  fear  of  man,  no  complaisance 
to  the  skeptical  notions  of  respected  friends  should  be 
allowed  to  hinder  us  from  a  prompt  discharge  of  those 
duties  which  God  has  enjoined  upon  us,  in  his  blessed 
Bible.  And  this  principle  holds  good  in  regard  to 
ritual  observances,  or  positive  institutions,  no  less  than 
in  relation  to  moral  and  relative  duties.  Did  the  Lord 
meet  Moses  in  the  way,  and  lay  upon  him  some  sore 
affliction  for  neglecting  to  circumcise  his  son?  Then 
may  we  expect  similar  visitations  of  his  anger,  if  we 
treat  divine  ordinances  with  similar  neglect.  This 
thought  deserves  the  serious  consideration  of  parents, 
who  either  wholly  neglect,  or  needlessly  delay  the 
dedication  of  their  children  to  God  in  baptism;  and 
of  those  persons  also,  who  abstain  voluntarily,  and 
with  heedless  indifference,  from  the  Lord's  supper. 
The  Almighty  has  insthuted  no  useless  ordinances. 
Wisdom  and  goodness  mark  all  his  appointments; 
but  most  conspicuously  are  these  divine  attributes 
blended  in  the  sacraments  of  the  New  Testament. 
As  we  would,  therefore,  acknowledge  the  authority, 
and  celebrate  the  grace  of  God  our  Saviour,  let  us 
keep  his  precepts  with  all  diligence,  and  earnestly 
endeavour  to  walk  before  him,  with  our  households, 
in  the  way  of  his  commandments,  blameless.  Thus 
may  we  hope  to  realize  in  our  domestic  circles,  the 


232  LECTURES    ON    EIELICAL    HISTOrvV. 

faithful  saying  of  the  Psalmist:  "The  voice  of  re- 
joicing and  salvation  is  in  the  tahernacles  of  the  rigli- 
teons." 

Soon  after  the  unpleasant  event  which  took  place 
'•by  the  way,  at  the  inn,"  Moses  was  joined  by  Aaron, 
his  brother,  who,  in  obedience  to  the  heavenly  vis- 
ion, had  come  forth  to  meet  him  in  the  wilderness  of 
Midian.  This  must  have  been  truly  a  joyful  a.nd 
a  solemn  meeting.  The  brothers,  after  a  separation 
of  forty  years,  are  brought  together  by  a  wonder- 
ful Providence,  to  unite  in  a  mission  of  a  very  extra- 
ordinary character.  They  embrace  each  other  with 
more  than  natural  aflection;  confer  fully  and  freely 
on  the  subject  matter  of  their  high  vocation;  and  after 
united  prayers  and  thanksgivings  to  the  God  of  their 
fathers,  they  set  forward  for  the  scene  of  action,  bear- 
ing along  with  them  the  rod  of  God,  and  a  fi'arrant 
from  the"  court  of  Heaven,  signed  by  The  Great  I 
Am,  to  bring  the  seed  of  Jacob  out  of  the  house  of 
bondage. 

The  sacred  narrative,  passing  over  in  silence  the 
incidents  of  their  journey,  next  presents  them  to  our 
notice  in  the  midst  of  the  children  of  Israel;  who,  on 
being  informed  of  the  kind  errand  on  which  they  had 
come,  and  on  hearing  the  words  which  the  Lord  had 
spoken  to  them,  and  beholding  the  signs  of  super- 
natural power  with  which  they  were  endued,  "bowed 
their  heads  and  worshipped."  Following  their  in- 
structions, they  then  proceed  to  open  their  commis- 
sion and  exhibit  their  credentials,  in  the  presence  of 
Pharaoh,  with  a  "Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  of  Israel, 
Let  my  people  go,  that  they  may  hold  a  feast  unto 
me  in  the  wilderness."  To  this  demand  the  haughty 
king  of  Egypt  was  far  from  being  disposed  to  yield: 
his  reply  affords  an  instance  of  fool-hardy  contempt 
for  the  authority  of  the  Most  High,  such  as  is  rarely 
to  be  met  with  in  the  annals  of  human  depravity: 
"Who  is  the  Lord  that  I  should  obey  his  voice  to  let 
Israel  go?  I  know  not  the  Lord;  neither  will  I  let 
Israel  go?"  And  here  commences  the  conflict,  which 
is  to  be  the  main  subject  of  this  exercise.     Our  obser- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTOllY.  233 

vation^  upon  it,  shall  be  arranged  under  tin-ec  heads, 
viz.  The  design  of  this  extraordinary  mission;  the 
obstacles  that  opposed  its  being  carried  into  effect; 
and  the  means  employed  in  its  accomplishment. 

I.  The  design  of  the  mission. 

This  was  great,  and  good,  and  extensive  in  its  bear- 
ing, beyond  mortal  measurement.  To  say  that  it  was 
to  deliver  a  numerous  people  from  unjust  servitude — 
to  redeem  a  nation  from  the  iron  grasp  of  cupidity 
and  despotism,  would  be  saying  little;  though  that 
alone,  would  have  been  an  object  worthy  the  special 
interposition  of  a  righteous  Providence.  What,  ex- 
cepting life  itself,  is  so  dear  and  desirable  to  man,  as 
liberty  and  the  right  of  self-government?  Let  the 
aged  men,  who,  even  at  this  day,  love  to  recount  the 
perilous  exploits  of  that  eventful  contest  which,  under 
favour  of  Heaven,  terminated  in  the  Independence  of 
these  United  States,  say  whether  the  liberation  of  a 
great  people  from  a  foreign  yoke,  is  not  a  matter  of 
\h^  first  magnitude  in  human  affairs.  This  allusion 
may  seem  strained,  and  inapplicable  to  the  case  of  the 
Israelites,  inasmuch  as  the  American  colonists  dwelt 
in  a  large  land,  without  task-masters,  and  scarcely 
conscious  of  the  yoke  which  they  bore.  This  may  be 
true;  but  the  cases  are,  nevertheless,  analogous.  The 
same  principle  that  would  impose  taxes  without  allow- 
ing the  taxables  the  privilege  of  being  represented  in 
the  government,  which  a  portion  of  their  hard  earn- 
ings contributed  to  support,  would,  if  an  opportunity 
should  ofier,  exact  the  full  tale  of  brick,  without 
furnishing  the  requisite  straw. 

But  the  mission  in  question  contemplated  something 
more  than  the  temporal  emancipation  of  a  great  nation 
from  the  thraldom  of  Egypt.  The  glory  of  the  only 
living  and  true  God  was  deeply  concerned  in  its  suc- 
cess. The  world  was  now  filled  with  dumb  idols; 
and  amid  the  heterogeneous  mass  of  fanciful  divinities, 
the  supposed  patrons  of  all  manner  of  vice  and  cruelty, 
the  principles  of  pure  religion  and  the  rights  of  the 
Creator,  were  in  danger  of  being  utterly  forgotten 
20* 


234  LECTURES    OX    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

among  mankind.  Of  these  sad  fruits  of  sin,  Egypt 
was,  at  this  time,  the  most  prolific  hot-bed,  perhaps, 
on  earth:  here,  therefore,  it  seemed  important  that 
the  power  of  Jehovah  should  be  displayed,  in  some 
impressive  form,  calculated  to  awaken  men  from  their 
delusive  dreams,  to  break  their  confidence  in  lying 
vanities,  and  turn  their  devotions  to  the  only  proper 
object  of  religious  homage.  That  this  purpose  was, 
in  some  degree  answered,  by  the  legation  of  INIoses 
and  Aaron,  is  made  plain  in  the  sequel  of  the  history 
now  before  us.  Nor  was  this  all: — In  mercy  to  the 
world,  God  intended  to  make  a  revelation  of  his 
will  to  mankind,  that  they  might  know  the  duties 
required  of  them,  and  learn  the  way  of  salvation 
through  the  blessed  Redeemer.  It  was  judged  ne- 
cessary, therefore,  by  the  only  wise  God,  that  a 
peculiar  people  should  be  selected  as  the  depository 
of  this  revelation;  and  that  they  should  be  placed 
in  circumstances  favourable  to  their  receiving  it  with 
due  reverence — that  it  might  be  preserved  with  re- 
ligious care,  and  transmitted  to  succeeding  genera- 
tions, unadulterated  and  entire.  And  that  this  be- 
nevolent purpose,  reaching  in  its  influence  to  all  ages 
and  nations  of  the  world,  was  more  likely  to  be 
attained  by  means  of  the  family  of  Jacob,  redeemed 
from  Egyptian  bondage,  and  separated,  afterwards, 
from  the  rest  of  mankind  by  a  wall  of  ceremonies, 
under  the  ministry  of  Moses,  than  by  any  other  me- 
thod that  can  be  conceived,  will  scarcely  be  denied, 
we  think,  by  any  intelligent  man,  wlio  shall  examine 
the  subject  candidly  and  with  an  honest  desire  to 
know,  and  ingenuousness  enough  to  acknowledge  the 
truth.  Such  we  take  to  be,  summarily,  the  design  of 
this  extraordinary  mission:  and,  when  we  seriously 
consider  the  magnitude  and  benevolence  of  the  design, 
are  we  not  constrained  to  allow,  that  it  furnished  oc- 
casion for  all  the  mighty  apparatus  employed  in  its 
execution? 

II.  I'he  obstacles,  which  opposed  its  being  carried 
into  efiect,  were  ; — the  dejected  state  of  the  Israelites; 
the  cunning  craftiness  of  the  7nagicians;   and  the 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  235 

hisaliable  cupidity  and  obdurate  wickedness  of  the 
king  of  Egypt. 

The  people  had  worn  the  yoke  so  long  that  they  had 
become,  in  a  measure,  inured  to  its  galhng  pressure. 
Their  spirits  were  broken  down — their  mental  energy 
prostrated; — and  they  had  been  made  to  serve  with  so 
much  rigour,  and  allowed  so  little  time  for  religious 
improvement,  that  they  had  nearly  forgotten  the  pro- 
mises made  to  their  fathers,  in  relation  to  their  being 
put  in  possession  of  the  land  of  Canaan,  in  the  fourth 
generation  from  the  time  of  their  entrance  into  Egypt. 
Hence,  when  they  found  that  the  incipient  steps  to- 
wards tlieir  deliverance  gave  occasion  to  an  augmen- 
tation of  their  burdens,  they  not  only  refused  to  exert 
themselves,  but  reproached  the  Lord's  messengers,  as 
if  they  had  come  to  aggravate  their  sufferings.  *'And 
they  met  Moses  and  Aaron,  who  stood  in  the  way,  as 
they  came  forth  from  Pharaoh — and  they  said  unto 
them,  the  Lord  look  upon  you,  and  judge ;  because  ye 
have  made  our  savour  to  he  abhorred  in  the  eyes  of 
Pharaoh,  and  i?i  the  eyes  of  his  servants,  to  put  a 
sword  in  their  hand  to  slay  nsV  This  grievous 
charge,  though  totally  unfounded,  had  a  painful  and 
ill  effect  on  the  mind  of  iSloses.  It  furnished  him,  in- 
deed, with  an  errand  to  the  throne  of  grace;  but  his 
complaining  prayer  on  the  occasion,  betrayed  a  rem- 
nant of  the  old  leaven  of  unbelief,  and  is  not  to  be  imi- 
tated in  similar  trials  :  "  Lord,  wherefore  hast  thou  so 
evil-intreated  this  people?  Why  is  it  that  thou  hast 
sent  me?  For  since  I  came  to  Pharaoh  to  speak  in  thy 
name,  he  hath  done  evil  to  this  people;  neither  hast 
thou  delivered  thy  people  at  all.'^  Alas,  for  our  fallen, 
faitjiless  nature!  Were  God's  ways  as  our  ways,  or 
his  thoughts  as  ours,  nothing  would  be  done,  in  the 
difficult  work  of  redemption — it  would  cease  forever. 

Another  hindrance  to  the  accomplishment  of  the 
design  of  this  mission,  was  the  cunning  craftiness  of 
the  magicians.  These  men  had  an  almost  unbounded 
influence  on  Pharaoh — on  his  courtiers,  and  on  all 
classes  of  his  superstitious  subjects.  Interested,  there- 
fore, to  maintaui  the  credit  of  their  infernal  art,  they 


23G  LECTunEs  on  eiclical  history. 

set  themselves,  with  unrelenting  mahgnity,  to  oppose 
the  messengers  of  Jehovah.  Whether  these  magi- 
cians were  in  some  sort  of  alhance  with  the  spirits  of 
darkness,  or  acquired  their  skill  in  their  vile  art  by 
long  practice,  without  any  preternatural  aid,  is  a  ques- 
tion which  we  have  neither  time  nor  inclination  to 
discuss.  We  will  only  say  in  passing,  that  it  does  ap- 
pear to  us  on  the  face  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  of  both 
Testaments,  that  there  is  a  prince  of  devils,  with 
many  evil  angels  under  him; — and  that  these  foul 
spirits  have  a  surprising  power,  not  only  of  influenc- 
ing wicked  men,  but  of  disturbing  and  harassing  the 
minds  of  the  pious  occasionally.  But  whatever  may 
be  their  power,  it  '\^ permitted^  and  bounded,  and  con- 
trollable by  the  Jilmighiy.  The  Son  of  God  com- 
manded the  demons  out  of  the  demoniacs,  in  the  days 
of  his  visible  abode  on  earth:  and  the  God  of  Moses 
and  Aaron  enabled  them  to  triumph  over  the  tricks  of 
Jannes  and  Jambres,  after  the  second  experiment  at 
least.  The  sorcerers  succeeded  tolerably  well  "  with 
their  enchantments,"  in  the  transmutation  of  the  rods 
into  serpents,  and  of  water  into  blood,  because  the 
substitution  of  the  one  in  the  place  of  the  other  might 
be  practicable  in  certain  curcumstances  without  being 
noticed  by  superficial  observers.  But  the  lice,  the 
frogs,  the  boils,  the  murrain,  the  hail,  the  darkness, 
&c.,  they  could  neither  imitate  nor  command.  This 
obstacle,  therefore,  to  the  accomplishment  of  the  di- 
vine purpose  was  overcome  by  divine  power. 

The  other  grand  impediment  to  the  speedy  execu- 
tion of  the  design  was,  the  insatiable  cupidity  and 
obdurate  wickedness  of  Pharaoh.  His  cupidity  ap- 
peared in  his  unwillingness  to  relinquish  the  services 
of  the  Israelites — and  his  singular  obstinacy,  in  his 
peremptory  refusal  to  acknowledge  Jehovah's  claim 
to  that  people — and  in  his  contempt  of  repeated  de- 
monstrations of  a  power  in  the  heavens,  which  he 
could  not  gainsay  or  resist  with  the  least  hope  of  suc- 
cess. "Woe  to  him  that  striveth  with  his  Maker! 
Let  the  potsherd  strive  with  the  potsherds  of  the  earth ; 
shall  the  clay  say  to  him  that  fashioneth  it,  What 


LECTURES    OS    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  237 

iiiakest  thou?  or  thy  work,  lie  hath  no  hands?''  The 
hardness  of  Pharaoh's  heart  is  proverbial.  It  cer- 
tainly appears  to  have  been  of  a  very  intense  and 
unyielding  sort.  How  did  he  arrive  to  such  a  con- 
summate degree  of  obduracy?  In  the  same  way,  we 
suppose,  tliat  many  other  sinners  make  themselves 
vessels  of  wrath,  fitted  for  destruction;  i.  e.  by  fulfill- 
ing the  hists  of  the  flesh,  and  by  resisting  the  means 
used  by  a  Holy  Providence  for  their  conviction  and 
conversion  from  the  error  of  their  ways.  In  the  narra- 
tive betbre  us,  it  is  in  several  places,  said  that  God 
hardened  Pharaoh's  heart;  and  in  other  places,  that 
he  hardened  his  own  heart:  and  here  is  a  dilTicultv, 
for  the  solution  of  which,  great  critical  ingenuity  has 
been  displayed,  and  much  time  spent,  which  might 
have  been  more  usefully  employed.  We  have  but 
few  words  to  say  on  the  subject.  This  wicked  mon- 
arch was  raised  up,  or  sustained  in  life — not  crushed 
instantly  by  the  divine  arm — in  order  that  Jehovah's 
power  and  long  suffering  might  be  manifested  in  his 
case,  in  a  striking  and  memorable  manner.  But  a 
God  of  purity  can  impart  no  sinfulness  to  any  crea- 
ture, nor  add  to  it  where  it  already  exists,  bi/  a  direct 
and  positive  influence:  the  only  way,  therefore,  so 
far  as  we  can  conceive,  in  which  he  could  harden  Pha- 
raoh's heart,  was  by  affording  him  such  warnings  and 
other  means  of  conviction,  as  must,  in  the  nature  of 
things,  leave  him  without  excuse  for  his  impenitence; 
and  as  must,  of  course,  aggravate  his  guilt  if  he  con- 
tinued rebellious  and  disobedient  to  the  commands  of 
his  Creator.  But,  not  to  mention  other  considerations, 
let  it  be  carefully  noted  here,  that  the  obdurate  wick- 
edness of  Pharaoh  was  the  most  formidable  obstacle 
that  impeded  the  execution  of  the  design  contemplated 
in  the  mission  of  Moses:  an  obstacle,  to  subdue  which, 
some  half  a  score  of  tremendous  judgments  were  in- 
flicted on  Egypt.  We  cannot,  therefore,  suppose  that 
God  actually  hardened  this  man's  heart,  without  sup- 
posing (what  amounts  almost  to  blasphemy)  that  he 
created  a  hindrance  to  the  fulfilment  of  his  own  pur- 
pose, for  the  sake  of  displaying  his  power  in  subduing 


23S  LECTURES    OX    BIBLICAL    HISTOTvY. 

it.  Such  were  the  obstacles  that  opposed  the  accom- 
plishment of  Heaven's  kind  designs  in  the  redemption 
of  his  people  from  the  house  of  bondage. 

III.  Our  observations  on  the  means  employed  for 
the  removal  of  these  impediments,  and  for  the  com- 
plete execution  of  the  divine  decree  in  this  important 
matter,  must  be  short  and  cursory. 

The  God  of  mercy  proceeded  in  this  instance,  as  he 
does  ordinarily  with  those  who  set  themselves  against 
his  authority  and  holy  counsels.  He  first  adopted 
lenient  and  persuasive  measures,  and  when  these  failed 
to  produce  the  desired  effect,  he  resorted  to  his  strange 
work;  his  hand  took  liold  on  judgment,  his  glittering 
sword  is  lifted  up,  to  show  that  while  he  takes  no 
pleasure  in  the  destruction  of  the  wicked,  he  will  by 
no  means  clear  the  guilty. 

The  transmutation  of  Aaron's  rod  into  a  serpent, 
and  its  devouring  those  of  the  magicians,  when  "they 
did  so  with  their  enchantments,"  was  not  a  plague, 
but  merely  a  token  to  Pharaoh,  that  God  Almighty 
had  empowered  and  commissioned  his  servants  to 
bring  forth  his  people,  that  they  might  serve  him  in 
the  wilderness,  and  in  the  land  of  promise.  Accord- 
ingly, after  exhibiting  this  testimony  of  the  validity  of 
their  pretensions,  the  two  ambassadors  approach  the 
king  of  Egypt  with  all  due  deference,  and  respectfully 
lay  before  him  this  statement  and  humble  petition: 
"The  God  of  the  Hebrews  hath  met  with  us:  let  us 
go,  we  pray  thee,  three  days  journey  into  the  desert, 
and  sacrifice  unto  the  Lord  our  God,  lest  he  fall  upon 
us  wuh  pestilence,  or  with  the  sword."  But  the 
haughty  monarch,  unmoved  by  this  respectful  appeal, 
the  Lord's  ambassadors  were  obliged,  in  the  execu- 
tion of  their  commission,  to  have  recourse  to  stronger 
and  more  effectual  measures,  as  we  shall  see  in  our 
next  lecture. 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  239 


LECTURE  XXV. 


THE  PASSOVER  INSTITUTED. 

And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  your  children  shall  say  unto  you, 
What  mean  ye  by  this  service  ?  that  ye  shall  say — It  is  the  sacri- 
fice of  the  Lord's  passover,  who  passed  over  the  houses  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  in  Egypt,  when  he  smote  the  Egyptians  and  deliv- 
ered our  houses. — Exodus  xii.  26,  27. 

The  redemption  of  the  Israelites  from  the  bondage  of 
Egypt  was,  on  several  accounts,  an  important  and 
memorable  event.  It  gave  occasion  to  a  very  extra- 
ordinary display  of  God's  power  and  faithfulness  in 
the  fulfilment  of  his  promises,  and  in  the  protection  of 
his  people.  It  was  a  significant  act  of  Providence, 
manifestly  designed  and  admirably  calculated  to  con- 
vey to  mankind,  in  their  successive  generations,  in- 
structions of  the  utmost  moment.  A  religious  rite 
was,  therefore,  instituted  to  perpetuate  the  remem- 
brance of  this  illustrious  event — a  rite  called,  for  a 
reason  mentioned  in  Scripture,  "The  Sacrifice  of  the 
Lord's  Pass-over,"  or,  more  commonly,  "The  Pass- 
over," simply.  This  divine  ordinance,  with  some  of 
the  most  striking  circumstances  of  its  appointment, 
and  particularly  its  relation  to  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  will  be  the  subject  of  our  present 
lecture. 

The  institution  is  described  in  the  sacred  text,  with 
a  minuteness  which  clearly  indicates  its  importance, 
and  supersedes  the  necessity  of  a  laboured  or  tedious 
exposition.  On  the  tenth  day  of  the  month  Abib, 
afterwards  called  Nisan,  and  corresponding,  nearly, 
to  our  March,  the  people  were  directed  to  take,  by 
families,  a  lamb,  of  the  male  kind,  without  blemish, 
and  not  exceeding  a  year  old,  from  the  flocks,  to  be 


240  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

kept  for  the  purpose  till  the  fourteenth  day  of  the 
same  month,  when  it  was  to  he  slain,  its  blood 
sprinkled  on  the  door-posts  of  their  dwellings,  and  its 
flesh  roasted  and  eaten  with  unleavened  bread  and 
bitter  herbs.  Tiiis  was  to  be  done  in  the  evening; 
and,  if  any  part  of  the  viclini  remained  over  night,  it 
was  to  be  consumed  by  fire  in  the  morning.  And, 
that  they  might  be  ready  to  depart  whenever  the 
signal  should  be  given,  the  people  were,  moreover, 
required  to  eat  the  paschal  lamb  in  liasle,  having 
their  loins  girded,  shoes  on  their  feet,  and  staves  in 
their  hands.  Some  of  the  particulars  here  mentioned 
in  the  manner  of  observing  the  rite,  were  rendered 
proper  by  the  circumstances  of  the  people  at  the  first 
celebration,  but  were  afterwards  discontinued  as  not 
being  essential  to  the  due  observance  of  the  ordi- 
nance; such  as  the  partaking  of  it  in  separate  fami- 
lies, the  sprinkling  of  the  blood  on  the  door-posts  of 
their  private  houses,  and  all  those  preparations  which 
related  to  a  speedy  march  out  of  the  house  of  bon- 
dage. 

Concerning  the  subsequent  observance  of  this  sacred 
memorial,  ''in  their  generations,"  the  law  directs  that 
it  should  be  celebrated,  not  in  private  dwellings,  but 
'•  in  the  place  which  the  Lord  should  choose  to  place 
his  name  in;"  i.  e.  at  the  tabernacle  and  the  temple; 
that  the  service  should  contiiiue  for  seven  days,  and 
that  the  first  and  last  of  these  days  should  be  kept 
with  peculiar  solemnity,  and  abstinence  from  secular 
business;  that  not  a  bone  of  the  Paschal  lamb  should 
be  broken,  and  that  a  stranger  should  not  be  allowed 
to  partake  of  the  festival  till  he  had  professed  his  faith 
in  the  God  of  Israel,  by  the  circumcision  of  himself 
and  the  male  members  of  his  household.  And  as  the 
Passover  was  considered  as  a  commemorative  sacri- 
fice, so  the  ritual  directs,  agreeably  to  the  general  rule 
concerning  sacrifices,  "  Thou  shaft,  therefore,  sacrifice 
the  Passover  unto  the  Lord  thy  God,  of  the  flock  and 
the  herd,  in  the  place  which  the  Lord  shall  choose  to 
put  Ins  name  there." 

The  primary  design  of  this  institution,  was  mani- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  241 

festly  to  keep  np  in  the  tribes  of  Israel,  a  grateful  re- 
membrance of  tlieir  deliverance  from  the  oppressive 
yoke  of  their  Egyptian  masters;  and  thus  to  engage 
and  encourage  their  devotion  to,  and  confidence  in, 
the  God  of  tlieir  fathers,  who  had  broken  the  rod  of 
the  oppressor  and  redeemed  them  from  servitude, 
agreeably  to  his  promise,  "with  a  strong  hand  and 
an  outstretched  arm.'^  The  people  were  accordingly 
commanded  to  '"observe  this  thing, as  an  ordinance  to 
them,  and  to  their  sons  for  ever:'^  that  is,  during  their 
existence  as  the  peculiar  people  of  God,  the  holy  na- 
tion, the  depository  of  the  divine  oracles,  till  Shiloh 
should  come,  who  was  to  break  down  the  middle  wall 
of  partition,  and  proclaim  salvation  to  all  nations, 
through  the  sacrifice  of  his  blood.  The  people  were 
required,  also,  to  explain  the  nature  and  design  of  the 
institution  to  their  children,  when  settled  in  the  land 
of  their  destined  inheritance:  "  When  ye  be  come  to 
the  land,  which  the  Lord  will  give  you,  according  as 
he  hath  promised,"  and  "  When  your  children  shall 
say  unto  you.  What  mean  ye  by  this  service?  ye 
shall  say,  It  is  the  sacrifice  of  the  Lord's  Passover, 
who  passed  over  the  houses  of  the  children  of  Israel 
in  Egypt,  when  he  smote  the  Egyptians  and  delivered 
our  houses.''  This  -ordinance  was  celebrated  with 
religious  care  and  punctuality  by  the  Israelites  in  their 
best  days,  as  during  the  times  of  Joshua,  Samuel, 
Hezekiah,  and  Josiah,  and  after  their  return  from  the 
Babylonian  captivity.  Its  observance  was  indeed,  at 
several  periods  of  their  history,  interrupted  by  their 
frequent  wars  and  relapses  into  idolatry;  but  the  due 
attention  to  this  and  their  other  divinely  instituted 
rites,  was  always  regarded  as  indicative  of  their  na- 
tional prosperity  and  of  the  favourable  state  of  re- 
ligion among  them.  The  existence  of  this  rite,  and 
the  estimation  in  which  it  was  held  by  that  people, 
from  the  de})arture  out  of  Egypt  till  the  destruction 
of  their  temple  by  the  Romans,  a  period  of  more  than 
fifteen  hundred  years,  affords  a  strong  argument,  or 
rather,  monumental  demonstration  of  the  truth  of  the 
history  contained  in  the  book  of  Exodus.  The  very 
21 


242  LECTTJRES    OX    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

name,  in  fact,  "  The  sacrifice  of  the  Lord's  Passover," 
points  to  the  origin  of  the  rite  as  related  by  Moses, 
with  indubitable  certainty  and  precision.  All  such 
observances  take  their  rise  from  events  of  interest  and 
notoriety,  else  it  would  be  impossible  for  them  to  ob- 
tain currency  and  credit  among  mankind.  This  obser- 
vation may  be  made  with  additional  force  in  relation  to 
the  Christian  Passover,  the  memorial  of  our  Saviour's 
death.  Without  allowing  the  truth  and  reality  of  the 
event  which  it  is  intended  to  commemorate,  it  is  im- 
possible to  account  for  the  existence  of  the  rite. 

The  remembrance  of  Israel's  departure  out  of  Egypt 
was  secured  also,  by  a  distinction  of  the  year  into 
ecclesiastical  and  civil,  to  which  that  event  gave  rise. 
Anterior  to  the  Exodus,  the  Jews  considered  the  year 
as  beginning  with  the  mxonth  Tirzi,  answering  nearly 
to  our  September,  about  the  autumnal  equinox;  and, 
as  we  have  observed  already,  the  departure  from 
Egypt  took  place  \\\  the  seventh  month,  according  to 
the  usual  reckoning,  called  Abib,  or  Nisan,  about  the 
vernal  equinox.  But  to  indicate  the  magnitude  of 
the  deliverance  accomphshed  on  this  occasion  by  the 
interposition  of  divine  power,  "The  Lord  spake  unto 
Moses  and  Aaron  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  saying,  Tliis 
month  shall  be  unto  you  the  beginning  of  months;  it 
shall  be  the  first  month  of  the  year  to  you."  Accord- 
ingly, they  ever  afterwards  considered  this  as  the  com- 
mencement of  their  ecclesiastical  year,  and  calculated 
from  it  the  time  of  their  feasts  and  other  religious  ob- 
servances; while  in  civil  concerns  they,  in  common 
with  some  neighboring  nations,  followed  the  old  reck- 
oning. 

The  relation  which  the  Passover  bears  to  the  Lord's 
Supper,  claims  special  consideration.  That  these  in- 
stitutions are  analogous,  the  one  to  the  other,  just  as 
t'ne  two  dispensations  to  which  they  belong,  respect- 
ively, correspond  to  one  another,  is  the  prevailing 
opinion  of  the  best  expositors  of  sacred  Scripture,  with 
whose  writings  we  have  any  acquaintance.  Under 
the  Old  Testament  dispensation,  the  gospel  was  ex- 
hibited symbolically;  under  the  Christian  dispensa- 


LECTUHEs;    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  243 

tioii  wc  have  the  blessings  of  the  same  glorious  gos- 
pel presented  to  our  acceptance  in  a  more  luminous, 
direct,  and  inviting  form.  The  whole  Jewish  econ- 
omy— "  The  adoption  and  the  glory,  and  the  cove- 
nants, and  the  giving  of  the  law,  and  the  service  of 
God,  and  the  promises;" — the  patriarchs  and  the  pro- 
phets, the  types  and  the  sacrifices,  and  the  prophecies, 
all  terminate  in  Christ,  the  Redeemer,  <'in  whom 
all  the  promises  are  yea,  and  amen,  to  the  glory  of 
God  the  Father."  On  this  grand  principle,  which 
seems  to  be  inwovoi  throughout  the  whole  tenour  of 
Scripture,  the  deliverance  of  Israel  was  a  type  of  the 
redemption  of  the  world  by  Jesus  Christ;  and  the  insti- 
tuted rite  which  commemorated  that  deliverance,  was 
designed  to  give  place,  in  due  time,  to  the  memorial  of 
that  blood  sheddiitg — that  one  sacrificial  offering, 
'^  which  for  ever  perfecteth  them  that  are  sanctified. '^ 
The  dealh  of  Chrisl  is  the  object  contemplated  as  well 
in  the  Jewish  sacrament,  the  passover,as  in  the  Chris- 
tian ordinance,  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  former  point- 
ed to  a  dying  Saviour  prospectively;  the  latter  looks 
retrospectively,  to  the  same  surprising  proof  of  re- 
deeming love.  It  is  conceded  that  the  passover  was 
designed,  primarily,  to  commemorate  the  temporal 
redemption  of  the  seed  of  Jacob;  but,  then,  that  re- 
demption itself  was  but  "  a  shadow  of  good  things  to 
come;"  and  of  course  the  rite  which  kept  up  the 
remembrance  of  it,  must  have  referred  ultimately 
and  mainly,  to  the  shedding  of  that  blood  which- 
cleanseth  from  all  sin;  which  constitutes  "the  propi- 
tiation for  our  sins,  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  for  the 
sins  of  the  whole  world."  Unless  we  admit  this  refer- 
ence of  the  paschal  lamb  with  its  attendant  ceremo- 
nies, to  Christ  crucified,  it  seems  impossible  to  find  a 
reason  for  its  appointment,  or  to  conceive  of  an  end 
to  be  answered  by  it,  worthy  of  the  wisdom  and 
goodness  of  the  only  wise  God.  The  slaying  of  the 
lamb,  the  sprinkling  of  its  blood  on  the  door-posts,  the 
eating  of  its  fiesh  with  unleavened  bread,  &c.,  had  no 
eflect  that  we  can  discern,  cither  from  Scripture  or 
from  the  nature  of  the  case,  in  subduing  the  opposition 


244  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

of  Pharaoh  to  the  enlargement  of  the  IsraeHtes.  Why 
then  was  the  rite  ordained?  and  why  were  the  peo- 
ple commanded  to  observe  it  in  their  generations  for 
ever?  To  these  and  the  like  questions,  the  only 
rational  answer  is,  that  this  whole  ceremonial  was 
intended  to  prefigure  '^  Christ  our  passover,  who  was 
sacrificed  for  us."  The  Lord's  Supper,_  therefore, 
commemorates  that  which  the  Jewish  passover  typi- 
fied, viz.  the  atoning  sacrifice  of  the  '^  Lamb  of  God, 
who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world."  Let  us  then, 
in  what  remains  of  this  exercise,  attend  to  some  of  the 
most  striking  points  of  resemblance  between  these  or- 
dinances, particularly  in  regard  to  the  spirit  and  man- 
ner of  their  due  observance.  The  redemxption  of 
Israel  from  the  bondage  of  Egypt,  is  a  most  signifi- 
cant and  impressive  type  of  that  glorious  deliverance 
which  our  Lord  and  Saviour  has  accomplished  for  his 
people:  nor  can  the  full  import  of  the  former  be  seen, 
without  a  reference  to  the  latter.  The  true  and  effi- 
cacious sacrifice  of  the  Lord's  passover  is  the  blood 
of  Christ,  which  cleanseth  from  all  sin.  Jesus,  the 
Son  of  God,  is  the  Lamb,  virtually  slain  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world,  as  the  true  paschal  lamb  of 
our  redemption.  Let  us,  then,  keep  the  feast  that 
commemorates  his  love,  "  not  with  old  leaven,  neither 
with  the  leaven  of  malice  and  wickedness;  but  with 
the  unleavened  bread  of  sincerity  and  truth."  Let  us 
obey  his  precepts,  in  proof  that  we  love  him ;  and 
when  asked  wdiat  we  mean  by  this  service,  we  will 
say,  because  "we  have  redemption  through  his  blood, 
even  the  forgiveness  of  sins,"  therefore,  we  eat  bread 
and  drink  wine,  "in  remembrance  of  him  who  loved 
us,  and  gave  himself  for  us,  a  sacrifice  and  an  offer- 
ing unto  God  for  a  sweet  smelling  savour."  Thus 
may  we  hope  that  others  will  join  us  in  the  delightful 
service,  and  find  by  happy  experience  that  his  yoke 
is  easy,  and  his  burden  light;  that  his  ways  are  plea- 
sant, and  all  his  paths  peaceful.  To  the  Lamb  that 
was  slain,  as  the  great  "sacrifice  of  the  Lord's  pass- 
over,"  let  us  unite  with  the  blood-bought  multitude, 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  245 

which  no  man  can  number,  in  the  sweet  and  appro- 
priate hnes  of  the  poet: 

"  Hail  1  thou  agonizing  Saviour, 
Bearer  of  our  sin  and  shame  I 
l)y  thy  merits  we  find  favour, 
Life  is  given,  through  tliy  name. 

Paschal  Lamb,  by  God  appointed, 
All  our  sins  on  thee  were  laid; 
By  Almighty  love  anointed, 
Thou  hast  full  atonement  made. 

All  thy  people  are  forgiven 
Through  the  virtue  of  tJiy  blood; 
Open'd  is  t!ie  gate  of  heaven: 
Peace  is  made  'twixt  man  and  God." 


LECTURE  XXYI. 

PARTICULARS  COXXECTED  WITH  THE  EXIT  FROM  EGYPT. 

And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Pharaoh  had  let  the  people  go,  that  God 
led  them  not  througli  the  way  of  the  land  of  the  Philistines,  al- 
though that  was  near;  for  God  said,  Lest  peradventure  the  people 
repent  when  they  see  war,  and  they  return  to  Egypt :  But  God 
led  the  people  about  through  the  way  of  the  wilderness  of  the 
Red  Sea;  and  ihc  children  of  Israel  went  up  harnessed  out  of  the 
land  of  Egypt.  And  Moses  took  the  bones  of  Joseph  with  him. 
for  be  had  straitly  sworn  the  children  of  Israel,  saying,  God  will 
surely  visit  you;  and  ye  shall  carry  up  my  bones  away  hence  with 
you.  And  they  took  their  journey  from  Succoth,  and  encamped  in 
Etham,  in  the  edge  of  the  wilderness.  And  the  Lord  went  before 
them  by  day,  in  a  pillar  of  a  cloud,  to  lead  them  the  way;  and  by 
night,  in  a  pillar  of  fire,  to  give  them  light  to  go  by  day  and  night. 
He  took  not  away  the  pillar  of  the  cloud  by  day,  nor  the  pillar  of  fire 
by  night,  from  before  the  people. — Exodus  xiii.  17-22. 

Se^'eral  facts  and  circumstances  connected  with  the 
departure  of  the  Israehtes  out  of  Egypt,  are  worthy 
of  notice;  some  on  account  of  the  apparent  difficulties 
attending  them,  and  others  on  account  of  the  con- 


24G  LECTURES    OX    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

firmation  which  due  attention  to  Ihem  may  aflord  to 
our  faith  in  the  sacred  narrative.  Of  this  nature 
are — The  period  of  their  stay  in  that  country — their 
number  at  tlie  time  of  their  exit — tlie  means  em- 
ployed to  ohtain  some  remuneration  from  the  Egyp- 
tians for  past  services — the  respect  which  they  showed 
to  Joseph's  remains — the  direction  in  which  they  first 
moved — the  symbol  of  the  Divine  Presence  which 
accompanied  them — and  their  extraordinary  passage 
over  the  Red  Sea.  To  a  brief  consideration  of  these 
particulars,  this  lecture  will  be  chiefly  devoted. 

In  regard  to  the  term  of  Israel's  continuance  in 
Egypt,  there  is  some  difficulty.     It  is  not  incapable, 
however,  of  a  satisfactory  solution.     From  what  is 
said,.  (Exodus  xii.  40  and  41,)  it  might  be  inferred,  on 
a  hasty  perusal  of  the  passage,  that  they  were  in  the 
Iiouse  of  bondage   four   hundred  and   thirty  years; 
whereas  the  fact  is,  they  were  there  only  half  that 
time,  viz:  two  hundred  and  fifteen  years.     The  text 
'referred  to,  speaks  of  the  sojourning  of  the  children 
of  Israel,  i.  e.,  of  Abraham  and  his  posterity,  in  the 
line  of  Isaac  and  Jacob,  but  does  not  limit  this  so- 
journing to  Egypt:  "Now  the  sojourning  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  ivho  dwelt  in  Egypt^  was  four  hundred 
and  thirty  years:  and  it  came  to  pass,  at  the  end  of  the 
four  hundred  and  thirty  3^ears,  even  the  self-same  day, 
it  came  to  pass,  that  all  the  hosts  of  the  Lord  went  out 
from  the  land  of  Egypt."     Abraham  was  a  sojourner 
from  the  time  of  his  leaving  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  at 
the  divine  call,  till  the  day  of  his  death.     And  his 
descendants  were  pilgrims  and  strangers  in  a  migra- 
ting and  unsettled  state,  long  before  their  descent  into 
Egypt.     The  four  hundred  and  thirty  years  are  de- 
signed to  express  the  whole  period  of  their  pilgrimage 
and  servitude,  anterior  to  their  getting  possession  of 
Canaan.     In  Genesis  xv.  13,  God  tells  Abraham,  that 
the  oppression  of  his  seed  shall  be  four  hundred  years; 
i.  e.,  thirty  years  short  of  the  period  mentioned  in  the 
passage  just  cited  from  Exodus  xii.    To  reconcile  this 
prediction  with  the  account  which  Moses  gives  of  its 
fulfilment,  it  is  only  necessary  to  observe,  that  the 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  247 

prediction  was  uttered  about  the  time  of  Isaac's  birth, 
which  was  from  five  and  twenty  to  thirty  years  after 
the  cahing of  Abraham;  and, consequently,  about  four 
hundred  years  before  tlie  departure  of  the  Israehtes 
out  of  Egypt.  "The  children  of  Israel,"  says  Dr. 
Shuckford,  "did  not  live  in  Egypt  four  hundred  and 
thirty  years;  for  they  came  into  that  country  with 
Jacob, 'a.  M.  229S,  and  went  out  of  it,  A.  M.  2513; 
so  tliat  they  Uved  in  Egypt  but  two  hundred  and 
fifteen  years:  therefore  the  sojourning  of  the  children 
of  Israel  must  not  be  limited  to  their  residence  in 
Egypt,  but  must  be  extended  to  the  time  of  their 
Hving  in  Canaan;  for  the  four  hundred  and  thirty 
years  here  mentioned,  begin  from  Abraham's  first 
coming  into  Canaan."  The  Samaritan  text  has  the 
verse  thus:  "Now  the  inliabiting  of  the  children  of 
Israel  and  their  fiithers^  whereby  they  inhabited  in 
the  land  of  Canaan,  and  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  were 
four  hundred  and  thirty  years."  Dean  Prideaux  con- 
siders this  as  a  paraphrase  on  the  Hebrew  text,  and 
regards  it  as  giving  the  true  sense  of  the  passage. 
This  view  of  the  subject  is  confirmed  by  the  testi- 
mony of  Josephus  also,  who  says,  "that  the  Israelites 
left  Egypt  four  hundred  and  thirty  years  after  Abra- 
ham's coming  into  Canaan,  and  two  hundred  and 
fifteen  years  after  their  entering  that  country  with 
Jacob."  It  appears,  then,  that  the  Israelites,  after 
remaining  in  Egypt  two  hundred  and  fifteen  years, 
left  that  country  in  the  year  of  the  world  2513,  and, 
consequently,  before  the  birth  of  Christ  1491  years; 
or,  to  aid  the  memory  by  means  of  a  round  number, 
we  may  say  about  fifteen  hundred  years  belore  the 
advent  of  our  Saviour. 

It  is  not  easy  to  ascertain  the  exact  number  of  tliese 
people,  at  the  time  of  their  exit  from  the  land  of  op- 
pression. They  came  into  Egypt  a  teeble  band,  their 
whole  number  then,  including  Joseph  and  his  sons, 
not  exceeding  four  score.  In  the  space  of  little  more 
than  two  hundred  years,  they  had  increased,  the  sa- 
cred text  informs  us,  to  six  hundred  thousand  men 
capable  of  bearing  arms,  besides  women  and  children. 


24S  LECTURES    OX    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

and  old  men,  wlio  liad  passed  the  military  age.  On 
the  moderate  calculation  of  four  persons  of  all  other 
descri])tions  for  one  man  capable  of  military  service, 
their  whole  number  must  have  been  three  millions; 
llie  most  extraordinary  instance  of  a  rapid  increase 
of  population  that  is  to  be  found  in  the  annals  of 
the  world:  especially  when  we  take  into  view  the 
circumstances  in  which  they  were  placed,  by  no 
means  favourable  to  their  growth  and  prosperity  as 
a  people.  For,  admitting  what  indeed  seems  pro- 
bable, that  their  oppression  did  not  commence  till 
after  the  death  of  Joseph  and  his  brethren,  yet  when 
we  recollect  that  Moses  was  born  under  a  decree 
of  the  cruel  Pharaoh,  ordaining  the  destruction  of  the 
male  children,  and  under  which  many  undoubtedly 
perished,  although  it  seems  not  to  have  continued  in 
force  long; — when  we  consider,  that  the  land  which 
the  people  cultivated  was  not  their  own,  and  that 
their  servitude,  for  at  least  a  hundred  and  twenty 
years,  v/as  most  abject  and  disheartening,  we  must, 
I  think,  ascribe  their  extraordinary  multiplication  to 
the  special  favour  of  Divine  Providence,  in  fulfilment 
of  the  promise  made,  and  often  repeated  to  their  fa- 
thers, of  a  seed  resembling  the  stars  for  multitude. 
To  furnish  such  a  vast  body  of  people  with  the  means 
of  sustenance  for  a  long  and  perilous  journey,  such 
as  they  were  now  about  to  enter  upon,  must  have 
been  a  matter  of  serious  difficulty  and  solicitude  to  the 
leaders  in  the  enterprise:  for,  although  they  were 
supported  in  the  wilderness  by  miracle,  as  the  sequel 
of  the  history  shows,  yet  not  being  fully  assured 
that  it  was  the  divine  purpose  thus  to  supply  their 
wants,  they  would  naturally  endeavour  to  provide  for 
themselves,  so  far  as  circumstances  would  permit. 
Some  property  they  undoubtedly  had  of  their  own. 
But  it  must  have  been  inadequate  to  their  wants; 
and  as  the  king  and  his  counsellors,  for  cogent  reasons 
were  anxious  to  have  them  leave  the  country  imme- 
diately, they  would  of  course  be  disposed  from  selfish 
motives  to  favour  their  speedy  departure.  Hence  the 
method  taken  to  supply  this  deficiency,  by  securing 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  249 

some  remuneration  from  their  oppressors  for  past  ser- 
vices; a  measure  which  we  are  hound  to  vindicate, 
because  it  was  taken,  as  appears  in  the  inspired  record, 
by  divine  direction. 

*'  Speak  now  in  the  ears  of  the  people,"  says  God 
to  Moses,  (Exod.  xi.  2,)  "and  let  every  many  borrow  of 
his  neiglibour,  and  every  woman  of  her  neighbour, 
jewels  of  silver  and  jewels  of  gold."  And  in  chap, 
xii.  35,  36,  we  are  told,  that  "the  children  of  Israel 
did  according  to  the  word  of  Moses;  and  they  bor- 
rowed of  the  Egyptians  jewels  of  silver,  and  jewels 
of  gold,  and  raiment."  Exception  has  been  taken 
to  this  transaction,  as  disingenuous,  if  not  flatly  dis- 
honest, on  the  part  of  the  Israelites.  Lord  Shafts- 
bury,  who  improves  all  occasions  against  the  Bible, 
says,  with  an  air  of  triumph:  "The  wit  of  the  best 
poet  is  not  suflicient  lo  reconcile  ns  to  the  retreat  of  a 
Moses  by  the  assistance  of  an  Egyptian  loan."  This 
objection"  assumes  what  needs  proof,  viz : — that  the 
children  of  Israel  had  no  intention  of  returnmg,  at  a 
fnture  day,  either  the  articles  loaned,  or  something 
equivalent  to  them,  in  value.  In  our  apprehension, 
this  might  have  been  the  fact,  for  aught  that  appears 
in  the  history,  or  in  the  nature  of  the  case;  though  it 
is,  we  admit,  rendered  rather  improbable  by  its  being 
said,  (chap.  xii.  36,)  that  "  they  (i.  e.,  the  Israelites) 
spoiled  the  Egyptians."  But  the  truth  is,  as  every 
Biblical  scholar  knows,  the  word  borrow  is  impro- 
perly used  in  this  place.  It  does  not  convey  the  true 
meaning  of  the  original,  which  signifies  to  ask  or  de- 
mand. It  is  the  same  word,  in  the  Hebrew  language, 
that  is  used  in  Psalm  ii.  S,  which  is  translated  cor- 
rectly: ".y^5/t'  of  me,  and  I  will  give  thee  tlie  heathen 
for  thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth  for  thy  possession."  The  children  of  Israel, 
then,  pursuant  to  divine  instructions,  asked  the  Egyp- 
tians for  jewels  and  raiment;  "and  the  Lord,"  it  is 
added,  "gave  the  people  favour  in  the  sight  of  the 
Egyptians,"  so  that  they  gave  them,  as  some  small  re- 
muneration for  service  rendered,  such  things  as  were 
needful,  in  the  existing  emergency.     This,  which  we 


250  LECTUllES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

believe  to  be  the  genuine  sense  of  the  sacred  text,  is 
confirmed  by  Joseph ns,  wlio  says  that,  at  the  time  of 
the  Exodus,  "the  Egyptians  made  the  Hebrews  con- 
siderable presents ;  and  that  some  did  so  in  order  to 
induce  them  to  go  away  the  sooner,  and  others  out  of 
respect  for  them  and  on  account  of  their  acquaintance 
with  them."  Thus  the  Lord  proves  himself  a  present 
help  to  his  peoj)le  in  time  of  need.  The  earth  is  his, 
and  the  fulness  thereof;  and  he  can,  in  various  ways, 
supply  their  wants,  and  make  even  their  enemies  be 
at  peace  with  them.  The  family  of  Jacob  came  into 
Egypt  under  the  pressure  of  famine — there  they  lived, 
not  only  in  a  state  of  dependence  on  a  despotic  and 
capricious  monarch,  but,  during  the  latter  half  at  least 
of  their  stay  in  that  country,  are  subjected  to  the  most 
degrading  bondage;  yet'Ciod  is  not  slack  concerning 
his  promise.  When  the  season  of  their  emancipation 
arrives.  He,  whose  kingdom  ruleth  over  all,  gives  them 
favour  in  the  sight  of  the  Egyptians,  and  leads  them 
forth,  laden  with  the  spoils  of  their  iron-hearted  op- 
pressors. 

It  is  pleasing  to  observe,  amid  the  embarrassment 
of  a  hasty  removal,  the  marked  respect  which  was 
paid  to  the  dying  request  of  Joseph,  in  relation  to  his 
mortal  remains.  "And  JMoses  took  the  bones  of  Jo- 
seph with  him;  for  he  had  straitly  sworn  the  children 
of  Israel,  saying,  God  will  surely  visit  you ;  and  ye 
shall  carry  up  my  bones  away  hence  with  you." 
This  injunction  hacl  been  laid  on  a  preceding  gene- 
ration ;  for  Joseph  had  been  dead  now  about  a  hun- 
dred and  forty  years,  (Gen.  1.24,&c.;)  but  the  memory 
of  his  worth  was  not  lost,  and  the  present  race  deemed 
it  their  duty  to  fulfil  an  engagement  entered  into  by 
their  fathers.  Joseph  was  a  firm  believer  in  the  divine 
promises ;  and  he  wished  to  confirm  the  faith  and  en- 
courage the  hope  of  his  kindred,  by  giving  them  a 
charge  concerning  his  bones,  which  was  calculated  to 
keep  them  mindful  of  his  dying  testimony  to  the  truth 
and  faithfulness  of  the  Almighty:  "  I  die,"  says  he, 
"  and  God  will  surely  visit  you,  and  bring  3^ou  out  of 
this  land  unto  the  land  which  he  sware  to  Abraham, 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  251 

to  Isaac,  and  to  Jacob."  And,  as  if  he  had  said,  to 
assure  you  of  my  entire  confidence  in  the  accompHsli- 
nicnt  of  this  divine  stipulation,  I  cliarge  you,  wlien 
God  shall  thus  visit  you,  to  carry  my  bones  with  you, 
that  they  may  rest,  along  with  the  ashes  of  our  pious 
forefathers,  in  the  hope  of  a  resurrection  unto  ever- 
lasting life  and  blessedness.  Let  us  remark,  here,  that 
it  is  seemly  to  Iionour  the  memory  of  the  just,  and 
those  that  have  been  useful  in  life,  by  a  respectful  at- 
tention to  their  funeral  rites,  and  by  all  due  regard  to 
their  reasonable  wishes  in  relation  to  the  place,  and 
other  circumstances  connected  with  the  interment  of 
their  bodies.  Joseph  had  been  an  eminent  benefactor 
to  his  father's  house,  and  had  been  distinguished  for 
his  piety  and  public  spirit;  it  was  fit  and  proper,  there- 
fore, that  his  name,  and  even  his  bones  s/ioiildbe  held 
dear  by  his  surviving  friends.  But  as  he  had,  as  we 
have  seen,  a  weighty  reason  of  a  religious  import,  for 
wishing  his  remains  carried  to  Canaan,  his  example, 
it  is  manifest,  was  not  designed  to  be  drawn  into  a 
precedent,  except  in  cases  where  similar  reasons  can 
be  alleged.  It  is  not,  ordinarily,  a  matter  of  much 
momeiit  where  our  mortal  bodies,  or  those  of  our 
kindred,  are  deposited.  They  will  not  be  overlooked 
in  the  morning  of  the  resurrection.  "This  is  the  will 
of  Him  that  sent  me,"  says  our  blessed  Redeemer, 
that  every  one  which  seeth  the  Son  and  believeth  on 
him,  may  have  everlasting  lite:  and  I  will  raise 

HIM  UP  AT  THE   LAST  DAY."    (Johu   vi.  40.) 

Joseph's  bones  were  a  sort  of  pledge  for  the  release 
of  Israel  from  the  house  of  bondage,  and  of  their  in- 
troduction into  the  land  of  promise.  But,  Christians, 
we  have  a  much  better  security  for  our  final  redemp- 
tion, in  the  many  sure  and  precious  promises  of  God's 
word,  in  the  weekly  Sabbaih,  which  perpetuates  the 
remembrance  of  our  Saviour's  triumph  over  death, 
and  in  the  sacramental  seals  of  his  well  tried  and 
everlasting  love;  "For  if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died 
and  rose  again,  even  so,  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus, 
will  God  bring  with  him:  Wherefore,  comfort  one 
another  with  these  words."  (1  Thess.  iv.  14.  IS.) 


252  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

^^  And  tliG  cliildren  of  Israel  went  np  harnessed  out 
of  the  land  of  Egypt."  The  word  here  rendered  har- 
7iesscd,  signifies  also,  fixed^prejiared,  and  arranged. 
The  meaning,  I  take  to  be,  tliat  they  were  distributed 
into  several  companies,  under  the  immediate  com- 
mand of  leaders  taken  from  their  respective  tribes,  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  as  much  order  as  possible  in 
the  movements  of  so  great  a  multitude;  for  the  state 
of  bondage  from  which  they  were  just  emerging,  for- 
bids us  to  suppose  that  even  their  men  of  war  were 
furnislied  with  arms,  and  otherwise  equipped  in  mili- 
tary style.  Thus  prepared  for  their  exit  out  of  the  land 
of  Egypt,  the  house  of  bondage,  the  Lord  himself 
condescends  to  become  their  guide  and  protector;  the 
ministry  of  Moses  being  employed  only  occasionally, 
and  by  express  orders  from  the  Holy  One  of  Israel. 

"And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Pharaoh  had  let  the 
people  go,  that  God  led  Ihein  not  through  the  way 
of  the  land  of  the  Philistines,  although  that  was  near, 
for  God  said,  lest  peradventure  the  people  repent  when 
they  see  war,  and  they  return  to  Egypt;  but  God  led 
the  people  about  through  the  way  of  the  wilderness 
of  the  Red  Sea."  The  nearest  route  from  Egypt  to 
Canaan  lay  in  nortii-eastern  direction,  through  the 
Isthmus  of  Suez;  and  the  journey  from  the  one  to  the 
other  might  have  been  pertbrmed,  for  aught  that  we 
can  conceive,  by  easy  and  slow  marches,  in  a  very 
few  weeks.  One  of  the  reasons  why  the  Israelites 
were  not  conducted  in  this  way,  is  mentioned  in  the 
passage  just  cited  from  the  sacred  text:  Philistia  lay 
along  this  route;  and  as  the  Philistines  were  an  in- 
hospitable and  warlike  people,  assaidts  and  depreda- 
tions from  them  might  be  expected:  and  the  people 
of  Israel,  unarmed  and  dispirited  as  they  must  have 
been,  from  long  servitude,  and  having  in  charge  their 
wives,  their  children,  and  aged  parents,  were  not  in  a 
fit  condition  to  encounter  the  hardships  and  perils  of 
war.  Other  reasons  are  disclosed  in  the  sequel  of  the 
history:  God  designed  to  manifest  his  power  by  the 
overthrow  of  Pharaoh  and  his  hosts  in  the  Red  Sea; 
that  Siani  should  be  the  scene  of  the  promulgation  of  iiis 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  253 

law,  and  that  his  chosen  people  shonld  be  trained  and 
tried  and  discipHned,  for  tiie  space  of  forty  3'ears  pre- 
vions  to  their  entrance  npon  the  inheritance  promised 
to  their  forefathers.  Therefore,  "  He  led  them  abont 
throngh  the  way  of  the  wilderness  of  the  Red  Sea." 
And  to  secnre  their  confidence  in  his  gnidance  and 
care,  "The  Lord  went  before  them  by  day  in  a  pillar 
of  a  clond,  to  lead  them  the  way;  and  by  night  in  a 
pillar  of  fire,  to  give  them  light,  to  go  by  day  and 
night."  It  were  idle  to  attempt  a  description  of  this 
extraordinary  symbol.  It  was  a  piece  of  that  wonder- 
fnl  apparatus  which  Jehovah  saw  fit  to  employ  in  the 
deliverance  of  his  people  Israel,  to  show  the  world 
that  he  is  never  at  a  loss  for  means  to  accomplish  his 
great  and  holy  purposes.  The  uses  of  this  cloud  are 
evident.  It  shielded  the  people  from  the  assaults  of 
their  enemies,  and  from  the  distressing  effects  of  a 
summer  sun.  It  served  to  dispel  the  darkness  of  the 
night,  and  especially  it  directed  all  their  movements; 
was  a  visible  token  of  the  Lord's  presence,  a  standing 
oracle,  to  which  recourse  was  to  be  had  for  divine  in- 
struction on  all  occasions.  And  may  we  not  add,  that 
this  mysterious  chariot  of  the  Most  High,  alternately 
affording  light  and  shade  to  the  ransomed  tribes  of 
Israel,  was  a  typical  representation  of  that  gracious  in- 
fluence which  guides,  and  guards,  and  cheers  the  chil- 
dren of  God  on  their  way  to  the  Canaan  of  everlasting 
rest!  "The  Lord  God  is  a  sun  and  shield;  the  Lord 
will  give  grace  and  glory:  no  good  thing  will  he  with- 
hold from  them  that  walk  uprightly."  (Psalm  liv.  1 1.) 
"Fear  not,  0  Israel !  the  Lord  is  thy  keeper;  the  Lord 
is  thy  shade  upon  thy  right  hand.  The  sun  shall  not 
smite  thee  by  day,  nor  the  moon  by  night.  The  Lord 
shall  preserve  thee  from  all  evil;  he  shall  preserve 
thy  soul.  The  Lord  shall  preserve  thy  going  out  and 
thy  coming  in,  from  this  time  forth,  and  even  for  ever- 
more." (Psalm  cxxi.  5-S.) 

It  only  remains,  of  our  design  in  this  lecture,  to  no- 
tice briefly~the  consummation  of  Israel's  triumph  over 
the  oppressor,  in  the  miraculous  passage  of  the  Red 
Sea.    Pharaoh,  having  recovered  a  little  from  the  con- 


254  LECTURES    ON    EICLICAL    HISTORY. 

sternatioii  produced  by  the  slaying  of  the  first-born, 
began  to  regret  the  loss  of  so  many  useful  servants; 
and,  with  the  view  either  of  reclaiming  them,  or  of 
taking  vengeance  upon  them,  for  daring  to  shake  off 
the  fetters  of  slavery,  he  pursued  and  overtook  them 
in  their  encampment,  between  a  town  called  Migdol, 
and  that  branch  or  bay  of  the  Red  Sea  called  Hierop- 
olis — -some  ten  or  fifteen  miles  south  of  the  Isthmus 
of  Suez.    The  natural  barriers  which  here  obstructed 
the  progress  of  the  Israelites,  inspired  their  pursuers 
with  a  confident  hope  of  an   easy  conquest.      The 
bay  is  supposed  to  have  been,  at  this  point,  from  two 
to   five   miles   wide,  and   on   either   hand  were  im- 
passable mountains,  while   the  chosen  chariots  and 
horsemen  of  Egypt  pressed  hard  upon  their  rear.     In 
such  circumstances,  to  the  eye  of  sense,  the  only  alter- 
native  for  Israel,  was   death  or   an   immediate  sur- 
render.    But  the  Lord's  arm  is  able  to  bring  deliver- 
ance in  all  emergencies.     Moses,  agreably  to  orders 
from  the  cloudy  pillar,  animates  the  faith  of  the  peo- 
ple, exhorting  them  to  await  the  salvation  of  God. 
"  Lift  thy  rod,  and  stretch  out  thy  hand  over  the  sea, 
and  bid  the  people  go  forward,"  says  the  holy  oracle. 
It  is  done: — '^And  the  Lord  caused  the  sea  to  go  back 
by  a  strong  east  wind  all  that  night,  and  made  the 
sea  dry  land,  and  the  waters  were  divided.     And  the 
children  of  Israel  went  into  the  midst  of  the  sea  upon 
the  dry  ground;   and  the  waters  were   a  wall  unto 
them,  on  their  right  hand  and  on  their  left."     The  in- 
fatuated Egyptians  continue  the  pursuit;  but,  behold! 
whilst  they  are  yet  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  and  the 
chosen  tribes  have  just  reached   the  opposite  shore, 
the  consecrated  rod  is  again  waved,  and  the  waters 
return  in  their  strength,  whelming  the  chariots  and 
horsemen,  and  all  the  host  of  Pharaoh,  so  that  not  one 
escapes.     "Thus  the  Lord  saved  Israel,  that  day  out 
of  the   hand  of  the  Egyptians;   and  Israel  saw  the 
Egyptians  dead  upon  tlie  sea  shore."     The  signal  fa- 
vour of  God,  shown  to  his  people  on  this  occasion,  is 
celebrated  by  Moses  in  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  Exodus, 
in  one  of  the  most  elegant,  and  most  ancient  pieces  of 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  255 

poetry  now  extant.  What  pity  it  is,  that  young  peo- 
ple generally  have  not  a  greater  relish  for  the  beauties, 
and  interesting  facts,  and  doctrines  of  the  Bible!  In 
view  of  what  has  fallen  under  our  notice  in  the  course 
of  this  exercise,  let  us  learn  to  revere  the  justice,  and 
confide  in  the  grace  of  God.  To  every  one  who  is 
disposed  to  serve  him,  and  inclined  to  trust  in  the  mer- 
cy that  is  revealed  in  the  gospel,  the  word  of  promise 
is,  "When  thou  passest  through  the  waters,  I  will  be 
with  thee;  and  through  the  rivers,  they  shall  not  over- 
flow thee."  "  Be  not  faithless,  therefore,  but  believ- 
ing." In  every  extremity,  stand  still  and  see  the  sal- 
vation of  God:  his  providence  may  conduct  you  in  a 
circuitous  and  afflicted  path;  but  know  assuredly  it 
is  the  right  way.  From  the  fate  of  Pharaoh  and  his 
host,  let  sinners  learn  the  awful  danger  of  hardening 
their  hearts  by  neglecting  the  calls,  the  warnings,  and 
gracious  offers  of  God's  holy  word. 


256  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 


LECTURE    XXYII. 

OCCURREXCES    BETWEEN    THE    RED   SEA   AND  MOUNT  SINAI. 

In  the  third  month,  when  the  children  of  Israel  were  gone  forth  out 
of  the  land  of  Egj^pt,  the  same  day  came  they  into  the  wilderness 
of  Sinai.  For  they  were  departed  from  Rephidim,  and  were  come 
to  the  desert  of  Sinai,  and  had  pitched  in  the  wilderness ;  and  there 
Israel  encamped  before  the  mount.  And  Moses  went  up  unto  God, 
and  the  Lord  called  unto  him  out  of  the  mountain,  saying-,  Thus 
shalt  thou  say  to  the  house  of  Jacob,  and  tell  the  children  of  Israel; 
Ye  have  seen  what  I  did  unto  the  Egyptians,  and  how  I  bare 
you  on  eagles'  wings,  and  brought  you  unto  myself.  No]iv,  there- 
fore, if  ye  will  obey  my  voice  indeed,  and  keep  my  covenant,  then 
ye  shall  be  a  peculiar  treasure  unto  me  above  all  people;  for  all  the 
earth  is  mine.  And  ye  shall  be  unto  me  a  kingdom  of  priests,  and 
a  holy  nation :  These  are  the  words  which  thou  shalt  speak  unto 
the  children  of  Israel. — Exodus  xix.  1-6. 

Sinai  and  Horeb  are  two  adjacent  peaks,  or  summits 
of  a  mountain  in  Arabia  Petraia,  situated  between  the 
two  bays  or  gulfs  which  extend  northward  out  of  the 
Red  Sea.  From  the  proximity  of  these  mounts,  they 
are  often  mentioned  in  Scripture  indiscriminately,  to 
disignate  the  scene  of  occurrences  which  took  place  in 
that  neighbourhood.  The  Arabs  call  Sinai  the  mount 
of  INIoses,  or  emphatically,  El  Tor,  The  Mount,  The 
surrounding  region,  on  account  of  its  dreary  and  sterile 
aspect,  is  denominated  the  wilderness  of  Sinai.  Here 
the  children  of  Israel  encamped  early  in  the  third 
month  from  the  time  of  their  leaving  Egypt;  and  here 
ihey  were  organized  as  a  holy  nation,  a  kingdom  of 
priests  unto  Jehovah,  their  God  and  supreme  gov- 
ernor, from  whose  lips  they  received  the  law  of 
duty,  in  circumstances  well  calculated  to  impress  their 
hearts  with  a  strong  sense  of  the  divine  majesty,  and 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  257 

to  secure  their  confidence  in  tlie  truth  and  faithfuhiess 
of  the  great  Creator,  from  generation  to  generation. 
But  before  entering  on  the  consideration  of  these  im- 
portant matters,  it  will  be  proper  for  us,  following  the 
thread  of  the  inspired  narrative,  to  notice  cursorily 
some  things  wliich  took  place  anterior  to  the  arrival 
of  the  ransomed  tribes  at  the  sacred  mount. 

Al^ter  celebrating  the  triumph  which  God  gave  them 
over  their  enemies,  at  the  Red  Sea,  and  securing  as 
we  may  presume,  the  implements  of  war,  and  other 
property  of  the  Egyptians,  which  may  have  been 
driven  ashore  by  the  waves,  they  moved  forward  un- 
der the  guidance  of  the  cloudy  pillar,  and  in  three 
days,  as  we  are  informed  (Numb,  xxxiii.  S,)  pitched 
their  tents  in  the  wilderness  of  Etham,  at  a  place 
which  they  seem  to  have  named  Marah,  i.  e.,  bitter- 
ness, in  allusion  to  the  quality  of  the  water  which 
they  found  there.  ^'  They  could  not  drink  the  waters 
of  Marah,  for  they  were  bitter:  and  the  people  mur- 
mured against  INIoses,  saying  what  shall  we  drink?'' 
See  the  ingratitude  and  rebellious  temper  of  these 
people.  They  assail  Moses  openly  with  their  faith- 
less murmurings,  as  if  he  had  engaged  to  secure  them 
from  all  those  inconveniences  which  were  to  be  ex- 
pected in  passing  through  a  trackless  and  barren  desert. 
How  soon  they  forget  the  great  things  which  God  had 
done  for  them,  but  a  few  days  before !  Such  is  the 
human  heart;  and  a  small  occasion  is  sufficient  to  dis- 
close its  folly  and  wickedness.  In  the  conduct  of  Moses 
in  this  as  in  many  other  trying  emergencies,  we  behold 
the  effect  of  a  firm  faith:  "  He  cried  unto  the  Lord; 
and  the  Lord  showed  him  a  tree,  which  when  he  had 
cast  into  the  waters,  the  waters  were  made  sweet." 
In  going  to  God  in  our  distress,  we  go  to  one  who  is 
both  able  and  ready  to  lielp  us.  "  Call  upon  me  in 
the  day  of  trouble,  says  he,  and  I  will  deliver  thee; 
and  thou  shalt  glorify  me."  This  deliverance  is 
often  obtained  too,  by  the  use  of  prescribed  means, 
altogether  inadequate  in  themselves  to  produce  the 
desired  etfect.  It  is  not  at  all  likely  that  the  tree 
which  the  Lord  pointed  out  to  Moses  possessed  such 


258  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

inedicinal  qualities  as  would  correct  the  offensive,  or 
unwholesome  property  of  the  waters  of  Marah.  It 
was  more  probably  chosen  of  God,  as  a  visible  token 
of  a  divine  energy  intended  to  be  communicated 
in  connexion  with  the  believing  use  of  the  institu- 
ted sign.  Thus  the  symbols  used  in  the  Christian 
sacraments  are  but  outward  signs  of  spiritual  bless- 
ings; but  God  makes  the  right  use  of  these  emblems, 
the  means  of  edification  and  holy  comfort  to  liis  peo- 
ple: let  them  never,  therefore,  be  neglected  or  despised 
by  those  who  long  to  experience  the  refreshing  intiu- 
"ence  of  the  water  of  life. 

The  next  encampment  was  at  Elim,  "  where  were 
twelve  wells  of  water,  and  three  score  and  ten  palm 
trees:" — a  striking  contrast  to  the  accommodations  at 
Marah ;  and  we  may  hope  that  the  people  would  be 
disposed  to  render  thanks  on  the  occasion  to  the  boun- 
teous giver  of  all  good.  Dr.  Shaw,  in  his  interesting 
travels,  says  that  he  found  nine  of  these  wells,  the 
other  three  having  been  filled  with  sand; — and  the 
seventy  palm  trees,  he  remarks,  have  multiphed  into 
more  than  two  thousand,  the  dates  of  which  bring 
a  considerable  revenue  to  the  Greek  monks  at  Tor. 
Thus,  sufficient  evidence  of  the  authenticity  of  this 
part  of  the  sacred  history  remains,  after  the  lapse  of 
more  than  three  thousand  years. 

In  the  wilderness  of  Sin,  which  they  appear  to  have 
entered  upon  their  leaving  Elim,  it  seems  probable 
that  the  provisions  which  they  had  brought  from 
Egypt  failed,  as  it  was  now  the  middle  of  the  second 
month  of  their  sojourning.  Here,  of  course,  their 
impatience  and  insubordination  became  excessive. 
The  whole  congregation,  as  with  one  voice,  rail 
against  Moses  and  Aaron,  exclaiming  in  despair, 
"Would  to  God  we  had  died  by  the  hand  of  the  Lord 
in  the  land  of  Egypt,  when  we  sat  by  the  flesh  pots, 
and  did  eat  bread  to  the  full;  for  ye  have  brought  us 
forth  into  this  wilderness  to  kill  this  whole  assembly 
with  hunger."  An  evil  heart  of  unbelief  is  strongly 
prone,  not  only  to  depart  from  the  living  God,  but  to 
forget  his  goodness,  and  distrust  his  faithfulness  and 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  259 

care.  ]\[uch  bad  been  done,  and  ample  promises 
made  to  secure  tbe  faitli  and  obedience  of  tbis  people; 
yet  we  find  tbem  petulant,  and  faitbless,  and  un- 
tbankful,  to  a  degree  wbicb  we  migbt  perbaps  be 
inclined  to  discredit,  were  we  not  conscious  of  pos- 
sessins:  tbe  same  evil  propensities,  and  of  baving 
manifested  similar  ingratitude  and  unfailbfulness  to- 
wards God,  our  Redeemer.  It  was  well  for  tbe  cbil- 
dren  of  Israel,  and  well  it  is  for  us,  tbat  God'S  ways 
are  not  as  our  ways.  Verily,  be  deals  witb  us  not 
according  to  our  deserts.  He  waits  to  be  gracious; 
and  aims  continually  to  overcome  our  evil,  by  ex- 
pressions of  bis  goodness  and  grace.  Tbus,  to  allay 
tbe  tumult,  and  silence  tbe  clamours  of  the  impatient 
multitude,  wbo  bad  forfeited  all  claim  to  bis  favour, 
he  directs  inmieiise  flocks  of  quails  to  alight  in  tbe 
camp,  and  rains  down  bread  from  heaven  to  supply 
their  wants,  and  to  prove  them,  whether  they  would 
walk  in  bis  law,  and  confide  in  bis  holy  providence. 
<'At  even  ye  shall  eat  flesh,  and  in  the  morning  ye 
shall  be  filled  witb  bread;  and  ye  shall  know  that  I 
am  the  Lord  your  God.  And  it  came  to  pass,  tbat  at 
even  the  quails  came  up,  and  covered  tbe  camp;  and 
in  the  morning  the  dew  lay  round  about  the  host. 
And  when  tbe  dew  that  lay  was  gone  up,  behold, 
upon  the  face  of  tbe  wilderness  there  lay  a  small 
round  thing,  as  small  as  the  boar-frost  on  the  ground. 
And  when  tbe  children  of  Israel  saw  it,  they  said  one 
to  another,  It  is  manna;  (i.  e.,  what  is  it?)  for  they 
wist  not  what  it  was.  And  Moses  said  unto  them, 
This  is  the  bread  wbicb  the  Lord  bath  given  you  to 
eat."  Tbe  supply  of  quails  appears  to  have  been  tem- 
porary; xlmt  oi  ?7ia?i?}a  was  continued  daily,  during 
tbe  term  of  their  sojourning  in  the  wilderness,  even 
"till  they  came  to  a  land  inhabited."  In  regard  to 
tbe  appearance  and  qualities  of  this  heavenly  bread, 
we  have  tbis  short  account  in  Scripture,  viz:  That  it 
was  like  coriander-seed,  white;  and  the  taste  of  it  was 
like  wafers  made  with  honey.  It  was  nutritious;  and 
tbat  it  was  miraculously  furnished,  there  can  be  no 
reasonable  doubt.     Should  the  skeptic  ask,  bow  can 


260  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

this  be?  we  would  only  remark,  that  when  he  shall 
be  able  to  explain  to  ns  all  the  mysteries  connected 
with  the  process  by  which  bread  is  furnished  to  man 
in  the  ordinary  way,  perhaps  we  may  be  able  to  tell 
him  how  the  manna  was  produced.  Several  useful 
observations  might  be  made  respecting  this  extra- 
ordinary interposition  of  Providence,  did  time  permit. 
The  people  were  required  to  gather  the  manna  daily, 
to  show  that  men's  exertions  are  not  rendered  need- 
less by  divine  energy:  a  double  portion  v/as  fur- 
nished and  ordered  to  be  collected  on  the  sixth  day  of 
the  week,  in  honour  of  the  sanctity  of  the  Sabbath, 
which  proves  the  obligation  of  keeping  that  holy  day 
before  the  giving  of  the  law  at  Sinai:  an  equable  dis- 
tribution was  to  be  made  of  that  which  was  gathered, 
that  "he  who  gathered  much  might  have  nothing 
over,  and  that  he  who  gathered  little  might  have  no 
lack,"  intimating  the  duty  of  helping  the  weak  and 
ministering  to  the  wants  of  the  poor:  and,  fnially,  an 
omer,  about  three  quarts,  of  this  bread  from  heaven, 
was  ordered  to  be  preserved,  as  a  memorial  to  future 
generations  of  the  Lord's  bountifulness,  in  thus  pro- 
viding for  the  necessities  of  his  people.  The  learned 
Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  in  his  Commentary,  has  some  good 
practical  remarks  on  this  piece  of  sacred  history,  with 
which  we  shall  close  this  article.  (See  his  notes  at  the 
end  of  Exod.  xvi. )  Concerning  the  manna,  he  re- 
marks: 1.  That  the  sacred  historian  has  given  us  the 
most  circumstantial  proofs,  that  it  was  a  supernatural 
and  miraculous  supply;  that  nothing  of  the  kind  had 
ever  been  before,  and  probably  nothing  like  it  had 
ever  afterwards  appeared:  that  it  was  a  type  of  our 
blessed  Redeemer,  and  of  the  salvation  which  he  has 
provided  for  man,  there  can  be  no  doubt;  for  in  this 
way  it  is  applied  by  Christ  himself;  and  from  it,  we 
may  gather  this  general  conclusion,  that  salvation  is 
of  the  Lord.  The  Israelites  must  have  perished  in 
the  wilderness  had  not  God  fed  them  with  bread  from 
heaven:  and  every  human  soul  must  have  perished 
{eternally)  had  not  Jesus  Christ  come  down  from 
heaven  and  given  himself  for  the  life  of  the  world. 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  2G1 

2.  God  would  have  the  Israelites  continually  de- 
pendant on  himself  for  all  their  supplies;  but  he 
would  make  them,  in  a  certain  way,  loorhers  with 
him.  He  provided  the  manna;  they  gathered  and 
ate  it.  The  first  was  God's  work;  the  latter  their 
own.  They  could  not  produce  the  manna,  and  God 
would  not  gafhe?^  it  for  them.  Thus  the  providence 
of  God  appears  in  such  a  way  as  to  secure  the  co- 
operaiion  of  man.  Though  man  should  plant  and 
ivater,  yet  it  is  God  who  giveth  the  increase.  But, 
if  man  should  neither  plant  nor  water,  God  will  give 
no  increase.  We  cannot  do  God's  work;  and  he  will 
not  do  ours.  Let  us,  therefore,  in  things  temporal 
and  spiritual,  be  ivorkers  together  with  Him.  3.  This 
daily  supply  of  the  manna  probably  gave  rise  to  the 
petition:  Give  its  this  day  oxir  daily  bread.  It  is 
worthy  of  remark,  that  what  was  left  over  night,  con- 
trary to  the  divine  command,  became  unfit  for  use; 
that  a  double  portion  was  gathered  on  the  day  pre- 
ceding the  Sabbath;  that  this  alone  continued  whole- 
some on  the  following  day,  and  that  none  fell  on  the 
Sabbath.  Hence  we  find  that  the  Sabbath  was  con- 
sidered a  divine  institution  previously  to  the  giving 
of  the  Mosaic  law;  and  that  God  continued  to  honour 
that  day  by  allowing  no  manna  to  fall  during  its 
course.  Whatever  is  earned  on  the  Sabbath  is  a 
curse  in  a  man's  property.  They  who  will  be  rich 
fall  into  temptation  and  a  snare;  for,  using  unlawful 
means  to  acquire  lawful  things,  they  bring  God's 
curse  upon  themselves,  and  are  drowned  in  perdition. 
Dost  thou  work  on  the  Sabbath  to  increase  thy  pro- 
perty? See  thou  do  it  not.  Property  acquired  thus, 
will  prove  a  curse  to  thee  and  to  thy  posterity.  4.  To 
show  their  children,  and  children's  children,  what 
God  had  done  for  their  fathers,  a  pot  of  manna  was 
laid  up  before  the  Testimony.  We  should  remember 
our  providential  and  gracious  deliverances  in  such  a 
way  as  to  give  God  the  praise  of  his  own  grace.  An 
ungrateful  heart  is  always  associated  with  an  unbe- 
lieving mind,  and  an  unholy  life.  Like  Israel,  we 
should  consider  with  what  bread  God  fed  our  fathers, 


262  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

and  see  that  we  have  the  same — the  same  Christ,  the 
bread  of  life — the  same  doctrines — the  same  ordi- 
nances, and  the  same  rehgious  experience.  How 
little  are  we  benefited  by  being  Protestants,  if  we 
be  not  partakers  of  the  protestant  faith?  And  how 
useless  will  even  that  faith  be  to  us,  if  we  hold  the 
truth  in  unrighteousness!" 

The  next  occurrence  which  we  deem  it  proper  to 
notice,  took  place  while  the  people  lay  encamped  at 
Rephidim,  in  sight,  as  is  generally  believed,  of  Mount 
Sinai.  Here  there  was  no  water;  and  the  people, 
though  relieved  repeatedly  from  their  distresses  by 
evident  manifestations  of  the  divine  power,  evince  the 
utmost  turbulence  and  distrust  of  Providence,  renew- 
ing their  complaints  against  Moses,  as  if  he  were  to  be 
held  responsible  for  all  the  hardships  and  privations 
that  befell  them.  JNIoses  again  goes  to  God,  by  prayer 
and  suppHcation:  "What  shall  I  do  unto  this  people? 
they  be  almost  ready  to  stone  me."  He  is  directed  to 
take  of  the  elders  with  him  as  witnesses  of  the  mira- 
cle about  to  be  wrought,  and  the  rod  with  which  the 
waters  of  the  Nile  had  been  turned  into  blood,  and 
proceed  to  a  certain  rock  in  Mount  Horeb,  which,  upon, 
being  smitten  in  the  name  and  presence  of  the  Lord, 
should  send  forth  water  in  sufficient  quantity,  at  least 
to  afford  relief  from  the  present  distress.  The  com- 
mand is  executed,  and  the  voice  of  murmuring  is  once 
more  silenced  by  the  overflowing  of  Heaven's  unmer- 
ited goodness;  and  to  furnish  the  ungrateful  multitude 
with  a  remembrancer  of  their  baseness  on  the  occa- 
sion, tlie  scene  of  this  miraculous  deliverance  was 
called  Massah  and  Miribah;  i.  e.,  strife  and  conten- 
tion. From  what  the  Apostle  Paul  says  respecting 
this  rock,  (1  Cor.  x.  4.)  some  have  imagined  that  either 
the  rock  itself,  or  tlie  water  flowing  from  it,  followed 
the  Israelites  in  all  their  sojourning,  till  they  reached 
Canaan.  But  this  opinion,  we  think,  is  by  no  means 
supported  by  Scripture.  When  Paul  says,  "that  rock 
was  Christ,"  he  means,  indubitably,  that  it  was  a 
type,  or  emblem  of  Christ ;  and  when  he  calls  the  water 
that  issued  from  it,  "spiritual  drink,"  he  means  to 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  263 

teach,  that  it  represented  the  influences  of  the  Spirit, 
which  are  vouchsafed  to  sinners  through  the  media- 
tion of  Him  who  was  smitten  of  God,  and  wounded 
for  our  transgressions.  It  was  Christ,  therefore,  that 
followed  Israel,  by  his  power  and  grace,  as  he  attends 
all  his  people  in  all  their  trials  on  their  way  to  the 
heavenly  rest. 

In  the  war  with  the  Amalekites,  which  took  place 
about  this  time,  we  have  a  memorable  exemplification 
of  the  efficacy  of  prayer.  The  assault  seems  to  have 
been  unprovoked  and  furious  on  the  part  of  Amalek. 
On  the  part  of  Israel  it  was  conducted  with  religious 
solemnity,  and  at  the  same  time,  with  vigour  and  suc- 
cess. The  immediate  command  of  the  army  was  en- 
trusted to  Joshua,  while  Moses,  with  the  rod  of  God 
in  his  hand,  and  accompanied  by  Aaron  and  Hur, 
ascended  a  hill,  probably  Horeb,  which  overlooked 
the  scene  of  battle,  there  to  supplicate  the  blessing  of 
the  Lord  of  hosts  on  their  efforts  to  repel  the  invaders. 
"And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Moses  held  up  his  hand, 
that  Israel  prevailed;  and  when  he  let  down  his  hand 
Amalek  prevailed.  And  Aaron  and  Hur  stayed  up 
his  hands,  the  one  on  the  one  side  and  the  other  on 
the  other  side ;  and  his  hands  were  steady  until  the 
going  down  of  the  sun :  and  Joshua  discomfited  Ama- 
lek and  his  people  with  the  edge  of  the  sword.''  A 
memorandum  was  made  and  ordered  to  be  preserved, 
of  the  result  of  this  war,  in  which  Amalek  was  evi- 
dently the  aggressor  and  the  most  guilty,  as  appears 
from  the  tremendous  threatening  of  utter  extermina- 
tion, which  was  executed  in  the  reign  of  David.  "I 
will,"  says  God,  "utterly  put  out  the  remembrance  of 
Amalek  from  under  heaven."  And  Moses  built  an 
altar  and  called  the  name  of  it  Jehovah-Nisi — i.  e.. 
The  Lord  is  my  banner.  The  church  of  God  is 
called  upon  to  "fight  the  good  fight  of  faith;"  and 
while  she  contends  under  the  Lord's  banner,  and 
makes  a  right  use  of  the  armour  which  is  provided 
for  her,  "'praying  always  with  all  prayer  and  suppli- 
cation in  the  Spirit,  and  watching  thereunto  with  all 
perseverance,"  she  has  nothing  to  fear.     Jesus,  the 


264  LECTURES    ON    BTELTCAL    HISTORY. 

captain  of  her  salvation,  will  in  due  time  discomfit  all 
her  enemies  and  bring  her  off  victorious,  through  the 
sacrifice  of  his  blood  and  by  the  might  of  his  power. 

The  only  other  incident  that  remains  to  be  noticed 
m  this  lecture,  is  the  meeting  of  Moses  with  his  father- 
in-law,  his  wife,  and  two  sons,  whom  he  had  left  in 
INIidian,  wlien  he  proceeded  to  Egypt,  commissioned 
of  God  to  bring  Israel  out  of  the  house  of  bondage. 
This  meeting  is  just  such  an  one  as  the  benevolent 
mind  loves  to  contemplate.  It  is  a  meeting  of  near 
relatives  that  had  been  long  separated,  and  who  must 
have  felt  deeply  and  tenderly  concerned  for  each 
other's  welfare.  It  is  characterized  by  dignity,  affec- 
tion, and  piety.  It  is  described  in  the  simple  language 
of  nature,  sanctified  by  religion;  and  the  description 
forms  an  item  in  that  rich  and  instructive  variety 
which  makes  the  Bible  the  most  entertaining  book 
in  the  world.  Read  it.  (Exodus  xviii.)  It  needs  no 
comment.  Every  thing  is  natural,  respectful,  kindly, 
and  serious.  It  is  delightful  to  meet  with  friends  after 
an  absence  of  even  a  few  days;  and  he  who,  after  a 
separation  of  weeks  or  months,  does  not  regard  a 
meeting  with  his  family  as  one  of  the  purest  luxuries 
on  earth,  does  not  love  them  as  he  ought.  "  Jethro  re- 
joiced for  all  the  good  which  the  Lord  had  done  to 
Israel."  What  a  blessed  influence  has  true  religion 
in  conciliating  kindness  and  confirming  friendship ! 
When  people  cordially  agree  in  the  same  glorious  ob- 
ject of  worship,  the  little  peculiarities  of  form  will  not 
obstruct  the  mutual  attraction  of  brotherly  love.  Preju- 
dice will  droop  and  die,  and  charity  will  draw  a  veil 
over  its  neighbour's  singularities  and  imperfections. 
Happy  the  fiimily  whose  union  is  cemented  by  piety; 
the  family  whose  happiness  and  peace  are  built  upon 
the  love  of  God;  whose  employments,  communications 
and  pursuits,  are  improved  and  sanctified  by  prayer!" 
Thus,  in  following  Israel  from  the  shore  of  the  Red 
Sea  to  the  foot  of  Sinai,  we  have  seen  that,  notwiih- 
standing  his  ingratitude  and  disobedience,  "the  Lord 
bore  him  on  eagles'  wings  to  bring  him  unto  himself," 
that  he  might  prove  him,  whether  he  would  walk  in 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  265 

his  law  and  keep  his  covenant.  The  promulgation  of 
this  law,  and  the  covenant  entered  into  on  the  occa- 
sion, will  be  the  subject  of  our  next  lecture. 


LECTURE  XXYIII. 


THE  LAW  GIVEN,  AXD  THE  SINAI  COVENANT  INSTITUTED. 

And  God  spake  all  these  words,  saying-,  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God, 
which  have  brought  tlice  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  out  of  the 
house  of  bondage. — Exodus  xx.  1,  2. 

In  all  the  divine  dispensations,  there  is  an  admirable 
mixture  of  sovereign  authority  and  condescending 
kindness.  By  the  former,  we  are  taught  to  regard 
with  reverence  every  thing  that  God  does  or  says; 
while  by  the  latter,  we  are  encouraged  to  hope  in  his 
mercy  and  confide  in  his  grace.  Thus,  when  about 
to  promulgate  his  law  to  Israel,  in  a  manner  so  ter- 
rific, as  to  make  even  Moses  exceedingly  fear  and 
quake,  he  reminds  the  people  of  his  relation  to  them 
as  the  Lord  their  God,  who  had  already  redeemed 
them  from  bondage,  and  who  was  now  going  to  con- 
fer upon  them  privileges  which  would  distinguish  them 
from  all  other  people,  and  constitute  them  a  holy  na- 
tion. Such  indications  of  favour  were  well  suited  to 
prepare  their  minds  to  receive  the  law  from  the  mouth 
of  God,  their  Redeemer,  as  the  rule  of  duty,  and  to 
acquiesce  in  the  covenant  propounded  to  them  on  this 
occasion,  and  which  was  designed  to  engage  them,  as 
a  people,  in  a  course  of  holy  and  cheerful  obedience. 

By  a  similar  mixture  of  terror  and  mildness — of 
judgments  and  mercies,  the  Lord  is  continually  aim- 
ing to  bring  mankind  to  submit  to  his  authority,  and 
accept  the  blessings  of  his  grace.  Thus,  says  Paul, 
"Knowing  the  terror  of  the  Lord,  we  persuade  men ;" 
23 


266  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

and,  in  another  place,  "We  beseech  yon,  brethren, 
by  the  mercies  of  God,  that  ye  present  your  bodies  a 
Hving  sacrifice — holy,  acceptable  unto  God,  which  is 
your  reasonable  service."  But,  how  affecting  it  is  to 
see  men  pressing  on  in  the  broad  way  to  perdition,  in 
defiance  of  the  varied  means  used  by  the  God  of  all 
grace,  to  reclaim  them  from  the  paths  of  the  des- 
troyer! Neither  the  thunders  of  Sinai,  nor  the  ac- 
cents of  mercy  issuing  from  the  courts  of  Zion,  will 
avail,  without  a  divine  energy  to  conquer  the  obsti- 
nate wickedness  of  the  human  heart.  How  few  of 
that  favoured  people,  whose  history  we  are  tracing, 
profited  by  their  peculiar  advantages!  Once,  and 
again,  we  hear  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  testifying 
against  them,  as  "a  seed  of  evil-doers — a  people  laden 
with  iniquity."  Their  perverseness  was  handed  down 
from  generation  to  generation,  so  that  when  the  INIes- 
siah,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  came  to  them  as  to  his 
own,  and  in  fulfilment  of  the  predictions  of  their  own 
prophets,  they  received  him  not.  They  would  not 
come  to  him,  that  they  might  have  life-,  and,  at  this 
day,  the  remnants  of  their  scattered  tribes  are  pining 
away  under  the  withering  influence  of  that  awful  im- 
precation— "  His  blood  be  on  us,  and  on  our  chil- 
dren !"  The  sad  effects  of  their  rebellion  and  unbe- 
lief, are  recorded  in  Scripture  for  our  admonition  : — 
God  grant  that  we  may  know  the  day  of  our  merciful 
visitation;  and  be  enabled  to  pay  due  attention  to  the 
things  that  belong  to  our  peace,  ere  they  be  hidden 
from  our  eyes ! 

Two  things,  nearly  related  to  each  other,  claim  our 
attention  in  this  lecture,  viz:  the  giving  of  the  law; 
and  the  ratification  of  what  is  commonly  called  the 
Sinai  Covenant.  The  children  of  Israel  reached  the 
wilderness  of  Sinai,  the  scene  of  the  transactions 
which  we  are  now  to  contemplate,  some  time  in  the 
third  month,  i.e.,  from  forty  to  fifty  days  after  their 
leaving  Egypt — which  they  did  about  the  middle  of 
the  first  month  of  their  ecclesiastical  year.  Here  they 
continued  till  the  twentieth  day  of  the  second  month 
of  the  second  year  of  their  sojournings,  i.  e.,  within  a 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  267 

few  days  of  one  whole  year;  when,  as  we  are  in- 
formed, (Num.  X.  11  and  12,)  they  removed  into  the 
wilderness  of  Paran.  As  the  occm'rcnces  and  com- 
munications of  this  period  were  deeply  interesting, 
so  the  history  of  them  occupies  a  large  space  in  the 
books  of  Moses,  extending  from  the  nineteeth  chapter 
of  Exodus  to  the  eleventh  verse  of  the  tenth  chapter 
of  Numbers,  including  the  whole  of  Leviticus.  It  is 
useful  in  reading  history,  to  notice  carefully,  and  as 
distinctly  as  possible,  the  time  and  place  of  the  events 
which  it  records.  Chronology  and  geography  are  fitly 
called  the  eyes  of  history,  because  they  contribute 
to  the  perspicuity  and  permanent  effect  of  Us  narra- 
tions. We  seldom  remember  long,  or  feel  much  in- 
terest in  events  said  to  have  taken  place,  we  know 
neither  ivhere  nor  lahen.  This  fact  should  be  borne 
in  mind,  in  reading  the  historical  parts  of  the  Bible. 
It  will  be  found  useful  even  in  catechising  children,  to 
accustom  them  to  inquire  in  what  part  of  the  world, 
and  at  what  time,  such  and  such  events  took  place. 

After  the  arrival  of  the  Israelites  at  the  foot  of 
Sinai,  some  days  were  probably  spent  in  making  pre- 
paration for  the  giving  of  the  law,  and  in  those  reli- 
gious services  which  were  designed  not  merely  to  dis- 
tinguish them  from  other  nations,  but  to  make  them 
a  holy  and  a  happy  people.  In  the  preparatory 
measures  taken,  as  well  as  throughout  the  whole  of 
the  revelations  and  transactions  that  followed,  Moses 
acted  by  divine  direction,  as  the  Lord's  minister,  and 
in  a  limited  sense,  as  mediator  between  God  and 
his  people;  accordingly  we  find  him  continually  occu- 
pied in  receiving  messages  from  God  and  bearing 
them  to  the  people,  whose  engagements  and  promises 
he  regularly  reports  to  Him,  who  speaks  from  the  top 
of  the  hallowed  mount. 

I.  The  covenant  which  was  ratified  at  Sinai,  and 
which  from  this  circumstance,  is  called  the  Sinai  Co- 
venant, seems  to  have  been  formed  previously  to  the 
publication  of  the  law.  A  few  remarks  concerning  its 
nature  and  design  may  not  be  out  of  place  here.  It  is 
first  propounded  in  Exodus  xix.  5,  &c.  "  Now,  there- 


268  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORT. 

fore,  if  ye  will  obey  my  voice,  indeed,  and  keep  my 
covenant,  then  ye  shall  be  a  peculiar  treasure  unto  me 
above  all  people ;  for  all  the  earth  is  mine  :  and  ye  shall 
be  unto  me  a  kingdom  of  priests  and  an  holy  nation." 
When  INIoses,  by  divine  command,  laid  this  proposal" 
before  the  elders,  "the  people  answered  together  and 
said,  all  that  the  Lord  hath  spoken,  we  will  do."  The 
subject  is  brought  up  again  in  chapter  xxiv.  verse  3, 
and  onward,  where  we  have  a  particular  account  of 
the  solemnities  observed  at  its  ratification.  An  altar 
was  built  and  sacrifices  offered; — twelve  pillars  were 
erected  as  memorials  of  the  compact; — the  stipula- 
tions were  read  in  the  audience  of  the  people,  and 
they  reiterated  the  promise — "All  that  the  Lord  hath 
said  will  we  do,  and  be  obedient:  and  Moses,  as  was 
usual  on  such  occasions,  took  blood,  and  sprinkled  it 
on  the  people  and  said,  Behold  the  blood  of  the  cove- 
venant  which  the  Lord  hath  made  with  you  concern- 
ing all  these  words!"  This  covenant  is,  by  some, 
confounded  wuh  the  covenant  of  works,  under  which 
our  first  parents  were  placed;  and  by  others  it  is  con- 
sidered merely  as  a  renewal  of  the  one  that  was  made 
with  Abraham.  But  in  our  apprehension,  it  is  distin- 
guishable from  both,  by  its  local  and  temporary  char- 
acter, as  we  shall  endeavour  to  show  presently.  In 
regard  to  the  covenant  of  works,  in  which  Adam  and 
Eve,  as  the  representatives  of  their  posterity  were  a 
party,  it  was  violated,  as  we  all  know  to  our  sorrow, 
but  it  has  not  been  abrogated.  Its  penalty  is  justly 
due  to  every  transgressor,  and  will  certainly  be  exe- 
cuted on  every  sinner  of  the  human  race,  who,  reject- 
ing the  hope  set  before  him  in  the  gospel,  dies  with- 
out an  interest  in  Christ,  the  surety  and  advocate  of 
his  people  in  the  covenant  of  grace.  "  There  is,  now, 
no  condemnation,  says  Paul,  to  them  that  are  in 
Christ  Jesus."  But  the  Redeemer  himself  says — 
"  He  that  believeth  not  in  the  Son  of  God  is  con- 
demned already:" — and  again, "He  that  believeth  not 
the  Son,  hath  not  life;  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth 
on  liim." 

The  Abrahamic  covenant,  though  resembling,  in 


LECTURES    OX    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  269 

some  respects,  the  one  now  under  consideration,  differs 
from  it  in  its  visible  seal,  and  in  the  promise  that  in 
Abraham's  seed  all  nations  should  be  blessed;  where- 
as the  benefits  of  the  Sinai  covenant  were  limited  by- 
its  terms,  to  the  particular  nation  with  which  it  was 
formed.  The  covenant  with  Abraham,  founded  upon 
the  covenant  of  grace  was  designed  to  exhibit  the  re- 
lation which  God  sustains  to  his  church  as  a  visible 
community,  and  is  still  in  full  force  under  the  gospel 
dispensation,  except  that  a  change  has  been  made  in 
its  form  of  administration,  and  in  its  seal — baptism 
iiaving  come  in  the  place  of  circumcision. 

The  vSinai  covenant  related  chiefly  to  external  con- 
duct, with  a  promise  of  temporal  blessings:  and  was 
intended  to  be  annulled  at  the  coming  of  Christ  to 
bring  in  everlasting  righteousness,  and  to  break  down 
the  middle  wall  of  partition  between  Jew  and  Gentile. 
What  then,  it  will  be  asked,  was  the  nature  and  intent 
of  the  covenant  in  question?  It  was  the  act  of  incor- 
poration, by  which  the  turbulent  and  undisciplined 
tribes  of  Israel  were  constituted  a  body  politic — a 
kingdom  of  priests — a  holy  nation,  with  God  Almighty 
for  their  King  and  Lawgiver.  It  was  the  charter 
of  their  national  rights,  privileges  and  duties:  and 
was  designed  mainly  to  place  them  in  a  fit  capacity 
to  receive,  and  preserve,  and  obey,  with  sentiments 
of  loyalty  and  religious  awe,  the  statutes  and  ordi- 
nances of  God,  about  to  be  promulged  and  entrust- 
ed for  a  season,  to  their  care  and  keeping.  The  form 
of  a  covenant  with  its  usual  solemnities,  sacrifices, 
mutual  engagements,  and  the  sprinkling  of  blood, 
seems  to  have  been  chosen  on  the  occasion,  in  order  to 
inspire  the  people  whh  the  greater  confidence  in  the 
power  and  faithfulness  of  their  Divine  Ruler,  and  to 
secure  all  possible  respect  for  his  commands  and  in- 
stitutions. From  this  period  till  the  days  of  Samuel, 
when  Saul,  the  son  of  Kish,  was  proclaimed  king  at 
Mizpeh,  the  government  of  Israel  was  a  theocracy; 
i.  e.,a  government  involving  a  close  alliance  between 
church  and  state — and  in  which  the  Creator  is  recog- 
23^^ 


270  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

liized  as  Legislator,  Chief  Magistrate,  and  Supreme 
Judge,  in  all  causes  civil  and  ecclesiastical. 

Hence  it  is  that  God  is  often  called  in  Scripture,  the 
King  of  Israel;  and  the  fact  of  his  having  been  their 
Supreme  Governor,  in  the  sense  just  stated,  is  clearly 
disclosed  in  the  first  book  of  Samuel,  chap.  viii.  4,  &c., 
where  we  have  au  account  of  the  breach  of  the  na- 
tional compact  on  the  part  of  the  people,  and  of  the 
consequent  designation  of  Saul  to  the  kingly  office,  in 
compliance  with  their  obstinate  determination  to  con- 
form, in  this  particular,  to  the  surrounding  nations. 
^•'  Hearken  unto  the  voice  of  the  people,'^  (says  God 
to  Samuel,  his  faithful  and  praying  minister,)  ''for  they 
have  not  rejected  thee,  but  they  have  rejected  me,  that 
I  should  not  reign  over  them.'' — "Now,  therefore, 
hearken  unto  their  voice:  howbeit,  yet  protest  sol- 
emnly unto  them,  and  show  them,  the  manner  of  the 
King  that  shall  reign  over  them." 

If  this  view  of  the  matter  be  correct  then,  it  will  be 
readily  perceived  that  the  Sinai  covenant  was,  in  its 
leading  features,  distinguishable  from  those  before 
mentioned,  as  well  as  from  all  others  recorded  in 
Scripture. 

It  was  a  national  compact  requiring  national  obe- 
dience; and  it  guaranteed  to  the  people  concerned  in 
its  provisions,  the  possession  and  use  of  a  certain  tract 
of  countr}^,  with  political  existence  and  protection, 
so  long  as  they  in  their  corporate  capacity  maintained 
their  allegiance  and  fidelity  to  their  God  and  king,  but 
no  longer.  It  was  not  intended  to  give  or  secure  eter- 
nal life  to  any  one.  Pious  individuals  were  then,  as 
they  are  now,  justified,  and  sanctified,  and  saved,  on 
the  ground  of  another  covenant — a  covenant  mediated 
by  the  great  High  Priest  of  our  profession,  Jesus  the 
Son  of  God.  This  blessed  covenant  and  that  of  Sinai 
are  compared,  and  the  superiority  of  the  former  to  the 
latter  demonstrated  with  conclusive  evidence,  by  the 
writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews;  see  particularly 
chap.  viii.  6,  &c.  "But  now  hath  he  (i.  e.,  Christ)  ob- 
tained a  more  excellent  ministry,  by  how  much  also 
he  is  the  mediator  of  a  better  covenant,  which  was 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  271 

established  upon  better  promises;  for  if  the  first  had 
been  fauhless,  then  should  no  place  have  been  sought 
for  the  second:  For  finding  fault  with  them,  he  saith, 
Behold,  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  when  I  will 
make  a  new  covenant  with  the  house  of  Israel  and 
with  the  house  of  Judah;  not  according  to  the  cove- 
nant that  I  made  with  their  fiithers  in  the  day  that  I 
took  them  by  the  hand  to  lead  them  out  of  the  land 
of  Egypt;  because  tliey  continued  not  in  niy  covenant, 
and  I  regarded  them  not,  saith  the  Lord.  For  this  is 
the  covenant  that  I  will  make  with  the  house  of  Israel, 
after  those  days,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will  put  my  laws 
into  their  minds,  and  write  them  in  their  hearts;  and 
I  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people.^' 
It  ought  to  be  carefully  noted,  that  when  the  apostles 
speak,  as  they  frequently  do,  of  the  old  covenant  that 
had  become  antiquated,  and  *'  was  ready  to  vanish 
away,"  and  was  in  fact  abrogated  and  of  no  force 
under  the  Christian  dispensation,  they  mean  not  the 
covenant  with  Abraham,  but  that  of  Sinai,  which  was 
local,  national,  and  temporal  in  its  nature.  Those 
who  wish  to  see  a  masterly  discussion  of  this  subject, 
would  do  well  to  read  Dr.  Owen's  exposition  of  the 
sixth  verse  of  the  eighth  chapter  of  Hebrews. 

On  the  promulgation  of  the  law — the  other  principal 
topic  for  consideration  in  this  lecture — we  shall  say 
but  little.  The  scene  is  described  by  the  pencil  of  in- 
spiration, in  a  style  and  manner  which  would  be  im- 
paired by  any  comment  that  we  could  offer.  It  was 
the  most  stupendous  display  of  God's  glorious  majesty 
that  ever  was  made  in  the  present  world,  excepting 
that  which  attended  the  crucifixion  of  Christ;  and  its 
efiects,  so  far  from  being  confined  to  the  Jewish  nation, 
will  be  felt,  and  seen,  and  admired  till  the  end  of  time. 
The  multitudinous  house  of  Israel,  after  suitable  and 
significant  ablutions,  having  been  taken  into  covenant 
with  the  Almighty,  are  ranged  in  reverential  attitude 
along  the  foot  of  the  sacred  mount,  to  hear  the  Most 
High  speak  to  them  from  his  cloudy  chariot.  "  And 
it  came  to  pass  on  the  tlnrd  day,  in  the  morning,  that 
there  were  thunders  and  lightnings,  and  a  thick  cloud 


272  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

upon  the  mount,  and  the  voice  of  a  trumpet  exceeding 
loud,  so  that  all  the  people  in  the  camp  trembled. — 
And  mount  Sinai  was  altogether  on  a  smoke,  because 
the  Lord  descended  upon  it  in  fire;  and  the  smoke 
thereof  ascended  as  the  smoke  of  a  furnace,  and  the 
whole  mount  quaked  greatly:  and  when  the  voice  of 
the  trumpet  sounded  long,  and  waxed  louder  and 
louder,  Moses  spake,  and  God  answered  him  by  a 
voice."  Exod.  xix.  16.  18,  19.  ^'And  God  spake  all 
these  words  saying,"  (as  it  would  seem  by  way  of 
preface,  to  relieve  the  people  from  the  overwhehning 
terror  of  the  scene,)  ''  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  which 
have  brought  thee  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  out  of  the 
house  of  bondage."  Then  follow  the  commandments, 
statutes,  judgments  and  ordinances,  which,  with  the 
various  historical  matter  interspersed,  occupy  upwards 
of  fifty-six  chapters  in  the  Bible.  And  it  is  important 
to  observe  here,  that  by  the  law,  as  promulgated  on 
this  memorable  occasion,  is  meant  comprehensively 
all  that  was  delivered  by  God  to  the  Israelites,  during 
their  stay  at  Sinai;  the  delivery  of  which,  must  have 
occupied  several  weeks,  if  not  months.  Moses  was 
twice  in  the  mount,  receiving  divine  communications, 
forty  days  each  time;  and  it  seems  quite  improbable 
that  so  much  time  would  be  taken  up  in  delivering 
the  ten  commandments. 

The  term  law,  then,  taken  in  the  large  sense  just 
stated,  is  three-fold  ;  morale  political,  ox  judicial  and 
ceremonial:  or,  in  other  words,  the  laws  and  ordi- 
nances given  at  Sinai,  and  to  which  the  people  were 
obliged  by  covenant  to  yield  obedience,  were  of  three 
kinds,  viz:  1.  Moral  precepts,  comprising  the  princi- 
ples of  our  duty  to  God,  and  to  our  fellow-creatures, 
at  all  times,  and  in  all  states  of  society.  2.  Judicial 
statutes,  adapted  to  the  theocratical  government  under 
which  the  people  were  placed — all  of  a  benign  ten- 
dency, but  some  of  which  are  unsuitable  to  be  intro- 
duced into  other  forms  of  civil  government;  because 
they  were  intended  for  a  particular  people,  in  peculiar 
circumstances,  and  only  for  a  certain  definite  period. 
3.  Ceremonial  rules  and  regulations,  relating  to  the 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  273 

priesthood,  the  tabernacle,  tlie  sacrifices,  the  holy  sea- 
sons, and  religions  rites  pecnliar  to  that  obscnre,  typi- 
cal, and  burdensome  dispensation.  To  this  class  the 
New  Testament  writers  refer,  when  they  speak  of  the 
law  "as  making  nothing  perfect — as  being  an  intole- 
rable yoke — as  having  a  shadow  of  good  things  to 
come.''  These  three  kinds  of  laws  are  intermixed  in 
the  Bible  ;  but  they  are  distinguishable;  and  the  Bib- 
lical reader  will  lind  it  greatly  to  his  advantage  to  re- 
member the  distinction,  and,  so  far  as  lie  can,  to  refer 
every  precept  to  its  proper  class. 

The  first  class,  i.  e.,  the  moral  precept^,  which  we 
are  mainly  concerned  to  know,  and  to  keep  religiously, 
is  summed  up  in  the  Decalogue,  or  Ten  Command- 
ments. These  alone,  it  is  believed,  were  written  by 
God  himself,  on  the  two  tables  of  stone  delivered  to 
Moses,  and  which  were  preserved  with  so  much  care 
in  the  ark  of  the  covenant — a  small  coffer,  or  chest  of 
rich  materials  and  curious  workmanship — which,  with 
its  lid,  the  mercy  seat,  and  its  two  symbolical  images, 
called  cherubim,  is  minutely  described,  Ex.  xxxvii. 
l,&c.  The  first  four  commandments  are  supposed  to 
have  been  written  on  one  of  the  stones,  and  the  re- 
maining six  on  the  other;  which  has  given  rise  to  the 
common  distinction,  the  two  tables  of  the  law;  the 
one  teaching  us  our  duty  to  God,  and  the  other  our 
duty  to  our  fellow-men.  We  have  not  time  at  present 
to  unfold  the  import  and  various  bearings  of  these 
densely  rich  precepts.  They  may  be  viewed  as  a 
new  edition  of  the  law  of  nature,  or  of  the  rule  and 
measure  of  moral  rectitude,  which  was  originally  im- 
pressed upon  the  heart  and  conscience  of  man,  by  the 
finger  of  his  Creator.  It  would  be  saying  little,  to  say 
that  the  decalogue,  consisting  of  ten  short  and  easily 
remembered  precepts,  is  the  purest,  the  most  compre- 
hensive, and  the  most  sublime  system  of  practical 
morality,  with  which  the  world  has  been  blessed ; — 
indeed,  nothing  of  the  kind  on  earth  will  bear  a  com- 
parison with  these  holy  and  immutable  principles  of 
right,  excepting  that  unrivalled  epitome  of  them  by 
Jesus  Christ — "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 


274  LECTURES    ON    I5IBLICAL    HISTORY. 

with  all  thy  heart,  soul,  and  mind;  and  thy  neigh- 
bour as  thyself."  INIatt.  xxii.  37,  &c. 

The  giving  of  the  law  commenced  on  the  fiftieth 
day  from  the  departure  out  of  Egypt;  and  as  the  lat- 
ter event  was  commemorated  by  the  Passover,  so  the 
feast  of  Pentecost,  a  word  signifying  fiftieth,  while  it 
served  as  a  thanksgiving  for  the  fruits  of  harvest, 
celebrated  also  the  promulgation  of  the  holy  com- 
mandments, as  a  blessing  never  to  be  forgotten.  It  is 
remarkable,  that  our  Saviour's  death  and  resurrection 
took  place  at  the  time  of  the  Passover;  and  fifty  days 
afterwards,  the  day  of  Pentocost  was  rendered  doubly 
and  eternally  memorable  by  the  miraculous  eifusion 
of  the  Spirit  on  the  Lord's  apostles,  attended  by  the 
impressive  and  appropriate  symbol  of  "cloven  tongues, 
like  as  of  fire."  The  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
imparted,  and  the  ministry  of  reconciliation  fully  in- 
stituted, fifty  days  after  the  Redeemer's  triumphant 
victory  over  death  and  the  powers  of  darkness.  Let 
us  be  thankful  for  the  good  things  shadowed  forth  and 
typified  by  the  law  and  its  wonderful  appendages ; 
and  may  God  make  them  useful  to  us,  as  means  of 
bringing  us  to  Him  who  is  "  the  end  of  the  law  for 
righteousness  to  everyone  that  believeth!"  Let  us 
close  this  exercise,  in  the  sublime  and  touching  lan- 
guage of  inspiration,  Heb.  xii.  lS-29 :  "  For  ye  (Chris- 
tians) are  not  come  unto  the  mount  that  might  be 
touched,  and  that  burned  with  fire,  nor  unto  black- 
ness, and  darkness,  and  tempest,  and  the  sound  of  a 
trumpet,  and  the  voice  of  words ;  which  voice  they 
that  heard,  entreated  that  the  word  should  not  be 
spoken  to  them  any  more;  (for  they  could  not  endure 
that  which  was  commanded.  And  if  so  much  as  a 
beast  touch  the  mountain,  it  shall  be  stoned,  or  thrust 
through  with  a  dart:  And  so  terrible  was  the  sight, 
that  Moses  said,  I  exceedingly  fear  and  quake:)  But 
ye  are  come  unto  Mount  Zion,  and  unto  the  city  of 
the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to  an  in- 
numerable company  of  angels  ;  to  the  general  assem- 
bly and  church  of  the  first-born,  which  are  written  in 
heaven,  and  to  God  the  Judge  of  all,  and  to  the  spirits 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  2/5 

of  just  men  made  perfect,  and  to  Jesus,  tiie  mediator 
of  the  new  covenant,  and  to  tiie  blood  of  sprinkling, 
that  speaketh  better  things  than  that  of  Abel.  See 
that  ye  refuse  not  him  that  speaketh.  For  if  they  es- 
caped not  who  refused  him  that  spake  on  earth,  mucii 
more  shall  not  we  escape,  if  we  turn  away  from  him 
that  speaketh  from  heaven :  whose  voice  then  shook 
the  earth:  but  now  he  hath  promised,  saying,  yet 
once  more  I  shake  not  the  earth  only,  but  also  hea- 
ven. And  this  word,  yet  once  more,  signifieth  the 
removing  of  those  things  that  are  shaken,  as  of  things 
that  are  made,  that  those  things  which  cannot  be 
shaken  may  remain.  Wherefore,  we  receiving  a  king- 
dom which  cannot  be  moved,  let  us  have  grace, 
whereby  we  may  serve  God  acceptably,  with  reve- 
rence and  godly  fear;  for  our  God  is  a  consuming 
fire.'^ 


LECTUKE   XXIX. 


THE  TABERNACLE   AND   JEWISH   MINISTRY. 

And  thou  shall  bring-  Aaron  and  his  sons  unto  the  door  of  the  taber- 
nacle of  the  congregation,  and  wash  them  with  water.  And  thou 
shalt  put  upon  Aaron  the  holy  garments,  and  anoint  him,  and  sanc- 
tify him;  that  he  may  minister  unto  mc  in  the  priest's  office.  And 
thou  shalt  bring  his  sons,  and  clothe  them  with  coats;  and  thou 
shalt  anoint  them,  as  thou  didst  anoint  their  father,  that  they  may 
minister  unto  me  in  the  priest's  office :  for  their  anointing  shall 
surely  be  an  everlasting  pricstliood  tliroughout  their  generations. 
Thus  did  Moses;  according-  to  all  that  tlic  Lord  commanded  liim, 
so  did  he. — Exodus  xl.  12-16. 

The  tabernacle  and  priesthood,  or  sacred  ministry  of 
the  Jews,  as  they  are  closely  related  in  their  design 
and  use,  may  be  advantageously  considered  together 
and  in  the  same  discourse.    Both  are  brought  to  view 


276  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

in  the  passage  of  Scripture  just  cited;  and  we  propose 
to  treat  of  ihern  briefly  in  the  present  lecture,  in  the 
order  in  which  they  are  presented  by  the  inspired 
penman. 

I.  The  tabernacle  of  testimony^  or  of  the  Lord,  as 
it  is  sometimes  called  to  distinguish  it  from  the  taber- 
nacle of  the  congregation,  in  which  the  people  ordina- 
rily assembled  for  the  despatch  of  secular  affairs,  was 
erected  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Sinai,  agreeably  to  in- 
structions given  by  God  to  Moses,  the  first  day  of  the 
first  month  of  the  second  year  after  the  Israelites  came 
out  of  Egypt — in  the  year  of  the  world  2514,  and 
before  the  coming  of  Christ  1490.  It  was  designed 
as  a  place  of  public  worship;  and  the  materials  of 
which  it  was  composed,  were  furnished  by  the  people 
with  a  liberality  worthy  of  imitation,  and  which  Moses 
judged  it  proper  in  due  time  to  restrain,  by  ordering 
that  no  further  offerings  should  be  made,  as  sufficient 
stuff  was  already  received  for  completing  the  work. 
Bezaleel  of  the  tribe  Judah,  and  Aholiab  of  the  tribe 
of  Dan,  are  named  as  the  most  distinguished  workmen 
employed  on  the  occasion.  These  and  others  not 
named,  but  characterized  as  "wise  hearted,"  seem  to 
have  been  qualified  for  the  service  by  extraordinary 
endowments:  for  it  is  said, Exodus  xxxi.  3,  that  they 
were  "filled  with  the  Spirit  of  God,  in  wisdom,  and 
in  understanding,  and  in  knowledge,  and  in  all  man- 
ner of  workmanship.'^  The  tabernacle  was  so  con- 
structed as  to  be  easily  taken  to  pieces,  and  carried 
along  with  the  people  in  their  journeyings.  It  was  a 
complicated  and  rich  structure,  though  far  inferior  in 
value  to  the  temple,  to  which  it  gave  place  in  the 
days  of  Solomon.  A  learned  antiquary*  gives  the 
following  estimate  of  the  metals  which  were  used  in 
completing  it:  viz.  gold,  ^175,460,  sterling;  silver, 
£37,721  17s.  6d.;  brass  or  copper,  £13S  6s.  Total 
£213,320  3s.  6d.  To  which,  if  we  add  the  cost  of 
the  wood,  the  curtains,  the  laver  and  its  foot,  the  high 
priest's  official  dress,  the  clothes  of  the  priesthood,  and 

*  William  Brown,  D.  D,,  of  Eskdalemuir. 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  277 

the  workmanship  of  the  whole,  we  may  estimate  the 
entire  cost  at  £250,000  sterling — more  than  a  milUon 
of  dollars.    Shonld  it  be  thonght  strange  that  a  people 
just  redeemed  from  a  state  of  bondage  were  able  to 
meet  such  an  expense,  let  it  be  recollected  that  they 
must  have  had  some  property  of  their  own — that  they 
received  large  presents  from  their  oppressors  as  in- 
ducements to  leave  Egypt;  and  that  they  probably 
availed  themselves  of  the  spoils  of  Pharaoh  and  his 
army,  who  were  drowned  in  the  Red  Sea  while  pur- 
suing them;  which  may  have  been  washed  ashore, 
and  to  which  they  were  entitled  by  the  laws  of  war. 
And  if  the  expenditure  should  be  objected  to,  as  ex- 
travagant for  people  in  their  circumstances,  let  it  be 
considered,  that  while  in  the  wilderness,  their  neces- 
sary wants  were  supplied  by  the  power  and  bounti- 
fulness  of  their  divine  Redeemer; — that  the  taberna- 
cle was  the  only  building  for  public  worship  which 
they  had; — that  it  was  to  be  the  dwelling  place  of  tlie 
iVIost  High,  under  the  symbol  of  the  cloudy  pillar,  or 
Schechinah; — that  it  was  a  nation.al  institution;  and 
that  it  served  as  the  house  of  God,  and  the  scene  of 
religious  observances,  for  a  nation  consisting  of  per- 
haps two  millions  of  souls.     This  extraordinary  edi- 
fice, with  its  courts  and  furniture,  has  been  minutely 
described  by  Dr.  Brown,  of  Eskdalemuir,  in-his  "An- 
tiquities of  the  Jews,"  and  other  writers  on  the  same 
subject.     But  a  short  and  intelligible  account  of  it 
may  be  seen  in  "  Calmet's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible," 
from  which  the  following  brief  description  has  been 
formed:    "  Tlie   tabernacle   was   an    oblong   square, 
thirty  cubits;  (a  cubit  being  twenty-one  inches)  ten 
in  breadth,  and   ten  in  height.     It  was  divided  into 
two  apartments.     The  one   twenty  cubits  long  and 
ten   wide,   called   the   Sanctum,  or  Holy  place;  in 
which  were  placed  the  table  of  show-bread,  the  gold- 
en candlestick,  and  the  golden  altar  of  incense:  and 
the  other,  ten  cubits  square,  and  called  the  Sanctum 
Sanctorum,  or  Most   Holy  place,  containing  the 
Ark  of  the  Covenant,  with  its  cov^ering,  the  mercy- 
seat,  adorned  with  two  splendid  images  called  cheru- 
24 


278  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

bim,  one  on  each  end,  and  their  faces  towards  one 
another,  bending  over  the  sacred  chest,  to  denote  tiie 
admiration  with  which  the  angels  contemplate  the 
divine  testimony.  A  curtain  of  rich  and  curious 
embroidery  separated  the  holy  from  the  most  holy 
place.  As  a  similar  curtain  was  afterwards  used  in 
the  temple,  for  the  like  purpose,  it  seems  highly  pro- 
bable that  that  was  the  veii^  said  by  the  evangelist  to 
have  been  rent  from  top  to  bottom,  at  the  time  of  our 
Lord's  crucifixion;  indicating  that  a  way  was  now 
provided  whereby  sinners  might  approach  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel,  and  find  acceptance  through  the  me- 
diation of  Christ;  or  as  it  is  sometimes  expressed, 
"through  the  rent  veil  of  the  Redeemer's  flesh." 
The  tabernacle  had  no  windows;  but  was  open  at 
the  east  end,  which  was  the  entrance.  At  the  west 
end,  and  on  the  two  sides,  it  was  enclosed  with  cur- 
tains; and  four  or  five  fold  of  curtains  constituted  its 
roof  These  latter  were  of  various  materials,  suited 
to  the  purposes  of  ornament  and  shelter  from  the 
weather,  according  to  the  situations  which  they  occu- 
pied severally.  That  which  appeared  from  within, 
was  of  the  colour  of  hyacinth,  striped  with  purple, 
scarlet,  and  crimson.  Over  this  was  thrown  a  cover- 
ing made  of  goat's  hair,  which  was  impervious  to 
rain.  The  two  outer  curtains  were  composed  of 
sheep  skins,  the  one  dyed  red,  and  the  other  azure- 
blue,  and  called  in  our  translation  of  the  Bible,  badger 
skins.  The  coxLvt  of  the  tabernacle  was  an  area  of  a 
hundred  cubits  long  and  fifty  wide,  enclosed  with  pil- 
lars overlaid  with  silver,  and  based  in  brass,  and  hung 
round  with  a  species  of  network  made  of  twined  linen 
thread.  In  this  court,  and  opposite  to  the  entrance  of 
the  sanctum,  or  holy  place,  stood  the  great  altar  of 
burnt  otferings,  on  which  animal  sacrifices  were  con- 
sumed. Here  also  the  laver  was  placed,  with  water 
for  the  use  of  the  priests,  who  received  the  victims 
when  brought  by  the  people,  and  prepared  and  pre- 
sented them  to  the  Lord,  agreeably  to  prescribed  forms 
and  ceremonies." — Thus  you  have  a  condensed  view 
of  the  first  building  for  the  public  worship  of  God,  of 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  279 

which  we  have  any  account.  It  is,  indeed,  a  very 
imperfect  sketch;  but  it  is  as  full  as  our  limits  will 
admit. 

When  the  tabernacle,  its  vessels  and  appendages, 
were  prepared,  the  whole  were  dedicated  to  God,  by 
the  application  of  a  peculiar  kind  of  oil  composed  of 
very  costly  ivigredients;  viz:  pure  myrrh,  sweet  cin- 
namon, sweet  calamus,  casia,  and  olive  oil,  in  a  cer- 
tain prescribed  proportion.  In  the  Epistle  to  the 
Heb.  ix.  21,  we  are  informed  that  the  sprinkling  of 
blood  was  also  used:  and  the  altar  of  burnt  oiferings, 
particularly,  was  sanctified  by  sacrifices  of  seven  da^^'s; 
while  the  princes,  or  heads  of  the  tribes,  brought 
rich  donations  for  the  service  of  the  sanctuary. 

Here  we  see  the  origin  of  the  custom  of  dedicating 
places  of  worship,  a  ceremony  which,  while  it  may 
be  considered  decent  and  harmless,  is  by  no  means 
necessary  under  the  Christian  dispensation.  Spirit- 
ual worship  is  the  best  consecration  of  a  church;  and 
while  we  hold  it  to  he  inexpedient,  ordinarily,  to 
transact  secular  business  in  a  place  devoted  to  reli- 
gious service,  we  cannot  prove  it  to  be  unlawful. 
When  Christ  drove  the  money-changers  out  of  the 
temple,  he  not  only  aimed  to  correct  a  gross  abuse, 
which  ought  in  no  case  to  be  tolerated,  but  acted  un- 
der the  sanction  of  the  ceremonial  law,  which,  though 
ready  to  vanish  away,  continued  mainly  in  force  till 
the  day  of  Pentecost. 

The  tabernacle  being  erected  and  dedicated,  the 
next  measure  taken  was  designed  to  secure  due  atten- 
tion to  the  sacred  services,  of  which  it  was  to  be  the 
scene  and  centre.  This  brings  us  to  the  second  arti- 
cle for  consideration  in  the  present  lecture,  viz: 

II.  The  institution  of  the  sacred  ministry,  as  it 
existed  among  the  Jewish  nation. — This  matter  is 
worthy  of  special  notice,  as  it  is  the  earliest  account 
on  record,  of  an  order  of  men  being  set  apart  for  the 
performance  of  religious  services.  Heretofore,  every 
pious  person  seems  to  have  been  his  own  priest. 
Heads  of  families  oQlciated  for  their  households;  and, 
on  the  decease  of  the  father,  the  eldest  son  took  his 


1^80  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

place  in  this,  as  well  as  in  several  other  respects. 
Princes  also,  seem  to  have  performed,  or  directed  the 
performance  of  the  sacerdotal  functions  for  their  sub- 
jects, collectively.  We  are  not,  indeed,  to  suppose  that 
the  pious  did  not,  previous  to  this  period,  assemble  in 
considerable  numbers  for  public  worship;  this  I  sup- 
pose was  done,  even  before  the  deluge,  and  subse- 
quently, in  the  days  of  Abraham,  Isaac,,  and  Jacob, 
with  additional  rites  and  solemnity;  but  the  exercises 
were  more  simple,  and  the  manner  of  conducting 
them  less  systematic.  Whereas,  now  that  a  nation  had 
been  taken  into  covenant  with  God,  and  that  the  sa- 
cred writings  and  divine  institutions  were  to  be  em- 
bodied and  preserved  for  the  honour  of  the  Creator, 
and  the  good  of  mankind,  in  all  time  to  come,  it  seem- 
ed good  to  infinite  wisdom,  that  the  public  ministra- 
tions of  religion  should  be  more  regularly  performed, 
and  that  an  order  of  men,  in  succession,  should  be  or- 
dained exclusively  to  those  holy  duties.  According- 
ly, Moses,  while  receiving  other  communications  from 
the  Lord  on  Sinai,  is  commanded;  "Take  unto  thee 
Aaron  thy  brother  and  his  sons  with  him,  from  among 
the  children  of  Israel,  that  he  may  minister  unto  me 
in  the  priest's  office;  even  Aaron,  Nadab,  and  xlbihu, 
Eleazar  and  Ithamar,  Aaron's  sons:"  and  in  the  pas- 
sage placed  at  the  head  of  this  lecture,  orders  are 
given  for  their  ordination  to  the  ministerial  work. 
Had  the  institution  of  the  priesthood  been  a  mere 
politic  contrivance  of  Moses,  without  divine  authority, 
as  infidels  have  insinuated,  is  it  not  marvellous  that 
his  own  sons  were  left  out  in  the  appointment;  and 
that  too,  by  a  permanent  regulation,  a  fixed  succession, 
secured  by  a  statute  which  was  to  remain,  and  did 
actually  remain  in  full  force  during  their  generations? 
The  Aaronic  family  had  no  very  strong  claims  to  the 
honours  of  the  priesthood.  Aaron  himself  had  acted 
a  very  unworthy,  nay,  a  blameworthy  part,  in  the 
affair  of  the  molten  calf,  just  before.  The  people  in 
the  forty-days'  absence  of  Moses,  and  the  cloudy 
pillar  on  the  mount,  became  impatient  and  turbulent. 
They  wanted   a  visible   symbol  of  divinity  in   the 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  281 

midst  of  them  continually: — "Up,  make  ns  gods 
which  shall  go  before  lis;  for  as  for  this  Moses— we 
wot  not  what  is  become  of  him."  And,  as  they  pro- 
bably wished  something,  after  the  fashion  of  Egyptian 
idols,  Aaron  yielded;  and  certainly  had  an  agency  in 
procuring  the  gratification  of  a  factious  and  idolatrous 
spirit,  wliich,  whatever  extenuating  circumstances 
may  be  alleged  in  his  favour,  cannot  be  vindicated: 
and  when  called  to  an  account,  for  his  conduct  on  the 
occasion,  his  own  apology  but  added  to  his  guilt:  "I 
cast  it,  i.  e.,  the  gold,  into  the  fire,  and  there  came 
out  this  calf '^  It  was  no  small  offence  to  be  concerned 
in  a  treasonous  freak  which  incensed  divine  justice, 
and  cost  the  nation  the  sacrifice  of  three  thousand 
lives.  Yet  Aaron,  very  soon  after  this  disastrous  and 
reproachful  occurrence,  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
sacred  ministry.  He  was  called  of  God,  according  to 
an  immutable  purpose:  and  in  this,  as  in  many  other 
instances  of  the  divine  conduct,  we  see  a  union  of 
grace  and  sovereignty  calculated  to  humble  the  pride 
of  human  wisdom,  and  nullify  the  pretensions  of 
merit  in  fallen  man. 

The  ceremony  of  ordaining  the  priests  to  their  holy 
vocation,  consisted  in  washing,  or  baptizing  them 
with  water,  at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle; — dressing 
them  in  tiieir  official  robes; — and  anointing  them 
with  holy  oil.  The  application  of  water  to  their  per- 
sons, denoted  that  inward  purity  of  heart,  as  well  as 
outward  decency  and  decorum,  which  became  them 
as  ministers  of  the  sanctuary.  Their  official  garments, 
provided  at  the  public  expense,  reminded  them  of  the 
responsibility  of  the  oiiice  which  they  sustained,  not 
for  their  own  personal  aggrandizement,  but  for  the 
glory  of  the  God  of  Israel,  and  the  spiritual  good  of 
his  people.  The  pouring  of  the  holy  oil  upon  them, 
indicated,  agreeably  to  long  established  usage,  that 
they  were  wholly  devoted  to  God;  and  that  they 
were  not  at  liberty  to  neglect  the  appropriate  duties 
of  their  sacred  office  for  any  selfish,  or  secular  pur- 
suits whatever.  This  particular  might  also  be  in- 
tended to  signify  to  them  their  need  of  a  divine  in- 
24" 


282  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

flueiice  ill  the  discharge  of  their  ministerial  duties. 
There  was  a  remarkable  conformity  to  these  rites 
of  ordination  to  office,  in  the  circumstances  of  our 
Saviour's  entrance  on  his  pubhc  ministry.  When 
he  was  about  thirty  years  old,  (the  ordinary  age  at 
which  the  Jewish  priests  were  ordained,)  he  was 
washed,  or  baptized  of  John,  at  Jordan — was  cloth- 
ed in  the  beautiful  garment  of  meekness,  and  mercy, 
and  received  in  his  human  nature  the  anointing  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  beyond  measure;  while  he  was 
"called  of  God,''  by  a  voice  from  heaven,  in  the  au- 
dience of  the  people,  saying,  "This  is  my 'beloved 
Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased ;  hear  ye  him." 

In  the  Jewish  ministry  there  are  three  orders,  viz: 
1.  The  High-priest,  who  had  the  oversight  of  the  whole 
ecclesiastical  concerns,  and  whose  peculiar  duty  it  was 
to  enter  the  Holy  of  Holies,  once  a  year,  on  the  great 
day  of  atonement,  to  sprinkle  the  blood  of  expiation, 
burn  incense,  and  perform  the  other  rites  proper  to 
that  solemn  occasion,  as  described,  Leviticus  xvi. ;  and 
to  whom  it  belonged  to  receive  special  communica- 
tions from  God,  on  great  emergencies,  and  for  import- 
ant purposes,  connected  with  the  general  interests  of 
the  community.  2.  The  ordinary  priests;  who  pre- 
pared and  offered  the  sacrifices,  kept  up  the  perpetual 
fire  on  the  altar  of  burnt-offerings,  tended  the  lamps  in 
the  sanctuary,  &c.,  under  the  general  superintendence 
of  the  High-priest.  3.  The  Levites;  i.  e.,  the  descend- 
ants of  Levi,  Jacob's  third  son,  with  the  single  excep- 
tion of  Aaron  and  his  family;  for  the  sons  of  Moses 
had  no  part  in  the  priesthood,  and  were  only  common 
Levites.  God,  as  we  are  taught  in  the  third  chapter 
of  the  book  of  Numbers,  chose  the  Levites  instead  of 
the  first-born  of  all  Israel,  for  the  more  laborious  ser- 
vices of  the  sanctuary.  They  were  subject  to  the 
orders  of  the  priests — ministered  wood,  water,  and 
other  things  necessary  for  the  sacrifices;  had  charge 
of  the  music,  vocal  and  instrumental;  studied  the  law, 
and,  in  a  word,  were  obliged  to  give  attention  to  a 
variety  of  duties,  connected  more  or  less  with  the 
general  interests  of  morality  and  religion.    Their  num- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  283 

ber  was  great,  amounting,  in  the  time  of  Moses,  to 
upwards  of  twenty-two  thousand.  Yet  they  were 
well  suppUed  with  the  means  of  hving;  for  aUliough 
they  had  no  allotment  of  territory  assigned  them  in 
Canaan,  yet  they  were  allowed  forty-eight  cities,  with 
ground  sutlicient  for  gardens  and  pasturage,  besides 
the  regular  tythe  of  all  the  produce  of  the  land.  Of 
these  cities,  thirteen  belonged  to  the  priests,  and  six 
were  cities  of  refuge. — But  we  must  conclude.  If  any 
should  ask,  what  have  Christians  to  do  with  the  taber- 
nacle and  priesthood  of  the  Jews?  let  them  remember 
that  'Uill  the  Scripture,  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God, 
and  is  profitable."  The  13ible  is  a  perfect  system  of 
religious  truth.  It  is  a  self-interpreting  book;  and  the 
more  intimate  our  acquaintance  is  with  all  its  con- 
tents, the  more  of  its  glorious  excellence  we  shall  dis- 
cern, and  the  more  likely  we  shall  be  to  feel  its  claims, 
and  rejoice  in  the  grace  which  it  reveals.  We  ought, 
indeed,  to  bless  God  that  our  lot  is  cast  under  the 
Christian  dispensation,  and  that  we  enjoy  the  privileges 
of  a  ministry  comprising  the  substance  of  which  that 
of  the  former  dispensation  was  but  the  shadow.  But 
crude  and  superficial  notions  about  the  authority  of 
the  Old  Testament,  have  done  immense  mischief  in 
the  Christian  church.  Believers  in  Christ  are  the 
children  of  Abraham;  and  the  same  gospel,  in  which 
we  profess  to  glory,  was  preached  in  the  symbols  and 
sacrifices  of  the  Hebrew  ritual.  What  is  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  but  a  profound  and  irresistible  argu- 
ment, drawn  from  the  institutions  of  Moses,  for  the 
priesthood,  the  sacrifice,  and  authority  of  Jesus  Christ? 
And  who  can  understand  that  portion  of  the  New 
Testament,  without  some  knowledge  of  the  Old? 
When  our  Lord  directed  the  Jews  to  search  the  Scrip- 
tures, as  testifying  of  him,  and  exhibiting  the  way  of 
life  and  salvation,  he  referred  to  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  Testament  mainly.  While,  therefore,  we  rejoice 
in  the  simple  glory,  light,  and  grace  of  the  gospel  day- 
spring,  under  whose  cheering  beams  it  is  our  privilege 
to  serve  God  in  the  beauty  of  holiness,  let  us  rever- 
ence, and  be  thankful  for,  the  whole  of  the  Scriptures, 


284  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL  HISTORY. 

which  arc  all  perfect  and  useful  in  converting  the  soul, 
and  in  fixing  its  confidence  in  the  great  High  Priest  of 
our  profession,  Jesus  the  Son  of  God:  To  whom  be 
glory  for  ever,  Amen ! 


LECTURE  XXX. 

TRESUMPTION  AND  REBELLION  PUNISHED. 

Your  carcasses  shall  fall  in  this  wilderness,  and  all  that  WQre  num- 
bered of  jou,  according  to  your  whole  number,  from  twenty  years 
old  and  upward,  which  have  murmured  against  me;  doubtless  ye 
shall  not  come  into  the  land,  concerning  which  I  sware  to  make 
you  dwell  therein,  save  Caleb  the  son  of  Jephunneh,  and  Joshua  the 
son  of  Nun.  But  your  little  ones,  which  ye  said  should  be  a  prey, 
them  will  I  bring  in,  and  tliey  sliall  know  the  land  wliich  ye  have 
despised. — Numbers  xiv.  29-31. 

There  is  a  meaning  in  every  act  of  the  divine  govern- 
ment; and  if  we  regard,  with  suitable  reverence  and 
attention,  the  works  of  the  Lord,  we  may  derive  use- 
ful instruction  from  all  the  dispensations  of  his  holy 
providence. 

The  history  of  the  IsraeUtes  is,  on  this  account, 
eminently  instructive  and  worthy  of  serious  consid- 
eration. In  all  God's  conduct  towards  that  people, 
the  two-fold  design  of  advancing  his  own  declarative 
glory,  and  the  good  of  mankind,  was  manifestly  kept 
continually  in  view.  Some  important  lesson  may  be 
learned  in  every  page  of  the  sacred  narrative.  "The 
works  of  the  Lord  are  great;  sought  out  of  all  them 
that  have  pleasure  therein."  Bearing  this  idea  along 
with  us,  let  us  in  the  present  exercise,  notice  briefly 
some  occurrences  which  took  place  not  long  after  the 
erection  of  the  tabernacle,  and  the  institution  of  the 
priesthood. 

A   few  days  after  the   ordination   of  the  priests, 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  2S5 

Aaron  offered  liis  first  burnt  sacrifice  for  himself  and 
the  people,  which  God  was  pleased  to  signify  his  ac- 
ceptance of,  by  sending  down  fire  from  heaven,  to 
consume  the  oblation  on  the  altar.  This  fire,  as  fitly 
betokening  the  pure  flame  of  devotion  whicli  ought 
to  attend  all  acts  of  religious  worship,  was  ordered  to 
be  kept  burning;  an,d  no  other  was  allowed  to  be 
used  in  their  future  offerings.  The  violation  of  this 
order  was  the  sin,  and  proved  the  ruin,  of  Nadab  and 
Abihu,  two  of  Aaron's  sons.  These  men,  officiating 
in  their  turn,  took  the  liberty,  contrary  to  the  divine 
command,  to  use  common  fire;  and,  as  a  manifesta- 
tion of  Jehovah's  regard  for  his  own  institutions,  and 
of  his  abhorrence  of  all  profane  temerity  in  the  cele- 
bration of  his  worship,  they  were  destroyed  by  light- 
ning, or  by  a  sudden  flash  of  fire  from  the  Lord  in 
the  form  of  lightning;  and,  that  others  might  see 
and  take  warning  from  their  doom,  their  bodies 
were  ordered  to  be  carried  forth  and  buried,  without 
mourning  or  any  other  tokens  of  respect.  From  this 
awful  event,  we  may  learn  the  importance  of  wor- 
shipping God  with  a  right  spirit,  and,  so  far  as  we 
can  discover  his  will,  in  the  manner  and  in  the  use 
of  the  ordinances  which  he  has  prescribed  in  his 
word. 

About  the  same  time  that  the  above  named  priests 
were  punished  for  profane  rashness  in  the  ministra- 
tions of  the  sanctuary,  we  find  two  instances  of  per- 
sons being  put  to  death  by  divine  command;  the  one 
for  blasphemy,  and  the  other  for  Sabbath  breaking. 
Such  cases  as  these  in  the  Old  Testament,  taken  in 
connexion  with  that  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Christian  dispensation,  seem 
intended  to  teach  the  world,  that  God  will  not  suffer 
his  holy  commandments  to  be  outraged  with  impu- 
nity. The  wrath  and  curse  of  the  Almighty  do  some- 
times alight  on  bold  transgressors,  even  in  this  life; 
and  we  learn  fwm  the  word  of  truth  that,  in  the  day 
of  final  account,  all  veils  will  be  taken  off,  and  that 
every  covert  act,  and  every  secret  purpose  of  iniquity 
shall  be  brought  into  judgment.     Let  us  bear  this  in 


286  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

mind,  and  endeavour  to  act,  and  form  all  our  designs, 
as  seeing  Him  who  always  sees  us.  He  with  whom 
we  have  to  do  cannot  be  deceived,  and  will  not  be 
mocked,  without  avenging  every  insult  offered  to  his 
holy  omniscience. 

After  the  people  had  advanced  towards  Canaan 
about  three  or  four  days  march  from  Sinai,  and  had 
manifested  a  refractory  and  discontented  spirit  at 
Taberah,  Moses,  by  divine  direction,  appointed  a 
court  of  judicature,  consisting  of  seventy  of  the  chief 
of  the  elders  of  the  people,  men  of  good  report  for 
their  wisdom  and  integrity,  to  take  cognizance  of 
minor  causes,  and  thus  afford  him  some  aid  in  the 
maintenance  of  order,  and  the  administration  of  jus- 
tice. The  idea  had  been  suggested  by  Jethro,  before 
they  reached  Sinai,  and  some  temporary  arrange- 
ment of  the  kind  was  then  made  accordingly;  but 
the  measure  was  now  adopted  in  a  more  solemn 
form,  under  the  sanction  of  divine  authority.  This 
appointment  seems  to  have  given  rise  to  what  has 
been  improperly  called  "  a  family  quarrel  between 
JNloses  on  the  one  side,  and  Aaron  and  his  sister 
Miriam  on  the  other;"  in  which,  say  some  infidel 
writers,  it  was  beneath  the  majesty  of  God  to  inter- 
fere in  the  nianner  described  in  the  Bible.  The  ac- 
count of  this  unhappy  affair  is  given  in  the  twelfth 
chapter  of  the  book  of  Numbers:  where  we  are  told 
that  "  Aaron  and  Miriam  spake  against  Moses,  be- 
cause of  the  Ethiopian  or  rather  Arabian  woman 
whom  he  had  married."  This  complaint  about  the 
Ethiopian  wife  was  manifestly  a  mere  covering  for 
jealousy  of  their  younger  brother's  power  and  in- 
fluence. The  sum  of  the  matter  seems  to  be  this: — 
Moses  had  nominated  the  seventy  elders  to  assist  hitn 
in  the  government  of  the  people,  without  consulting 
any  of  his  friends  or  counsellors.  This  gave  offence 
to  Aaron  and  Miriam,  who,  not  prepared  to  bring  a 
charge  directly  against  the  administration  of  their 
brother,  assailed  him  through  the  medium  of  his  wife, 
reproaching  her  as  a  foreigner,  and  alleging  that  she 
had  too  much  influence  over  him.     This  was  an  at- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  2S7 

tack  on  the  ofiicial  character  of  JNIoscs,  and  amounted 
to  sedition:  the  olTence,  therefore,  was  not  to  be  con- 
nived at.  Moses,  indeed  conld,  and,  as  appears  from 
his  intercession  for  tlie  chief  otiender,  did  really  for- 
give, so  far  as  he  tvas  personally  concerned,  but  God 
judged  it  proper  t6  discountenance  such  seditious  pro- 
ceedings in  future,  by  inflicting  on  Miriam  the  loath- 
some disease  of  leprosy,  and  ordering  her  to  be  ex- 
cluded from  the  camp  seven  days,  according  to  law 
in  such  cases.  Here  was  something  more  than  a 
family  feud: — it  was  a  crime  against  the  state.  Nor 
was  there  any  thing  in  the  divine  interposition  on  the 
occasion,  at  all  incompatible  with  the  majesty  of  Je- 
hovah, considered  as  the  King  of  Israel.  It  was  a 
just  judgment,  designed  to  check  a  spirit  of  faction 
which  disturbed  the  peace,  and  menaced  the  subver- 
sion of  the  government.  And  had  not  Moses  been 
more  concerned  to  exhibit  the  truth  and  give  a  faith- 
ful history,  than  to  aggrandize  his  family  by  publish- 
ing their  honours  and  concealing  their  faults,  the 
world  would  never  have  heard  of  the  very  unpleas- 
ant disturbance  which  took  place  at  Hazeroth.  Let 
us  learn  from  it,  to  respect  the  constituted  authorities 
of  the  community  to  which  we  belong.  Jealousy  and 
ambition  are  the  principles  of  tumult  and  anarchy — 
alike  incompatible  with  personal  virtue  and  social 
comfort. 

At  Cadesh-Barnea,  on  the  southern  borders  of  Ca- 
naan, twelve  men,  one  out  of  each  tribe,  were  commis- 
sioned to  go  into  the  promised  land,  to  ascertain  the 
nature  of  the  soil,  the  strength  of  its  fortifications,  the 
courage  and  probable  number  of  the  inhabitants.  On 
the  return  of  these  men,  although  they  brought  with 
them  specimens  of  the  produce  of  the  country,  clearly 
indicating  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  a  spirit  of  murmur- 
ing and  discontent  arose  among  the  people,  which 
became  intolerable.  This  was  owing,  in  part,  to  a 
diversity  of  opinion  among  the  spies  themselves. 
Joshua  and  Caleb,  confiding  in  the  divine  power  and 
faithfulness,  endeavoured  to  animate  the  dejected 
tribes  to  press  on  to  the  conquest  j  but  the  other  ten, 


2SS  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

being  of  a  difterent  opinion  held  a  different  language. 
Their  faithless  apprehension  spread  among  the  multi- 
tnde,  and  the  result  was  an  almost  unanimous  deter- 
mination not  to  proceed,  but,  if  a  suitable  leader 
could  be  found,  to  return  to  the  land  of  Egypt.  Here- 
upon JNIcses  renewed  his  humble  and  earnest  inter- 
cessions at  the  throne  of  grace,  confessing  the  great 
and  aggravated  sins  of  the  people ;  but,  at  the  same 
time,  alleging  that  should  they  be  cut  off  in  the  wil- 
derness, the  enemies  of  religion  would  triumph,  and 
that  the  matter  would  probably  be  construed  to  the 
dishonour  of  the  truth,  faithfulness,  and  power  of 
the  God  of  Israel.  Mark  the  importunity  and  noble 
disinterestedness  of  this  favoured  servant  of  the  JNIost 
High!  He  is  assured,  that  should,  this  generation 
be  smitten  by  pestilence  and  disinherited,  God  would 
make  of  him  a  greater  nation,  and  mightier  than 
they.  Still  he  urges  the  strong  plea  of  the  divine 
glory,  with  an  ardour  of  pious  eloquence  that  has 
scarcely  ever  been  surpassed.  "  And  Moses  said  unto 
the  Lord — then  the  Egyptians  will  hear  it,  and  they 
will  tell  it  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  land;  for  they 
have  heard  that  thou.  Lord,  art  among  this  people; — 
that  thou.  Lord,  art  seen  face  to  face;  that  thy  cloud 
standeth  over  them,  and  that  thou  goest  before  them 
by  day  in  a  pillar  of  cloud,  and  in  a  pillar  of  fire  by 
night.  Now  if  thou  shalt  kill  all  this  people  as  one 
man,  then  the  nations  which  have  heard  the  fame  of 
thee,  will  speak,  saying.  Because  the  Lord  was  not 
able  to  bring  this  people  into  the  land  which  he  svvare 
unto  them,  therefore  he  hath  slain  them  in  this  wil- 
derness. And  now,  I  beseech  thee,  let  the  power  of 
my  Lord  be  great,  according  as  thou  hast  spoken, 
saying.  The  Lord  is  long  suffering  and  of  great  mercy, 
forgiving  iniquity  and  transgression,  and  by  no  means 
clearing'the  guilty,  visiting  the  iniquities  of  the  fathers 
upon  the  children  unto  the  third  and  fourth  genera- 
tion. Pardon,  I  beseech  thee,  the  iniquity  of  this 
people,  according  to  the  greatness  of  thy  mercy,  and 
as  thou  hast  forgiven  this  people  from  Egypt  even 
until  now!"     Here  the  propriety  of  the  pious  inter- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  2S9 

cesser's  representation  seems  to  be  admitted,  but  his 
particular  request  cannot  be  granted;  while  he  is 
assured  tiiat  Jehovah  wiH  take  care  of  his  own  glory, 
amid  the  displays  of  his  justice.  "  And  the  Lord 
said,  I  have  pardoned  according  to  thy  word:"  i.  e., 
in  time  past.  "But  as  truly  as  1  live,  all  the  earth 
shall  be  filled  with  the  glory  of  the  Lord."  Then 
follows  the  irreversible  decree,  which  Moses  is  or- 
dered to  announce  to  the  people:  "  As  truly  as  I  live, 
saith  the  Lord,  as  ye  have  spoken  in  mine  ears,  so  will 
I  do  to  yon;  your  carcasses  shall  fall  in  this  wilderness 
— all  that  were  numbered  of  you,  according  to  your 
whole  number,  from  twenty  years  old  and  upwards, 
which  have  murmured  against  me;  doubtless,  ye 
shall  not  come  into  the  land,  concerning  which  I 
sware  to  make  you  dwell  therein,  save  Caleb  the  son 
of  Jephunneh  and  Joshua  the  son  of  Nun.  But  your 
little  ones,  which  ye  said  should  be  a  prey,  them  will 
1  bring  in,  and  they  shall  know  the  land  which  ye 
have  despised: — and  your  children  shall  wander  in 
the  wilderness  forty  years,  and  bear  your  whoredoms, 
[idolatries,]  until  your  carcasses  be  wasted  in  the  wil- 
derness: I  the  Lord  have  said,  I  will  surely  do  it  unto 
all  this  evil  congregation  that  are  gathered  together 
against  me." — Without  staying  to  animadvert  on  the 
stupid  obstinacy  of  the  people  on  this  occasion,  let  us 
observe,  first,  that  there  was  no  breach  of  covenant  on 
God's  part,  in  this  determination;  for  the  promise  of 
Canaan  was  made  to  the  seed  of  Abraham,  not  to  this 
particular  generation;  and  to  tlie  following  generation, 
i.  e.,  to  those  who  were  now  twenty  years  old  and  un- 
der, with  their  children,  the  promise  was  fulfilled.  Se- 
condly, that  God  ordinarily  employs  rational  mean's 
and  presents  the  most  weighty  considerations  to  induce 
mankind  to  keep  his  connnands,  and  thus  secure  their 
own  best  interests,  before  he  visits  tliern  in  judgment. 
Thirdly,  that  tliere  is  a  point  in  the  career  of  sin  and  re- 
bellion, beyond  which  the  divine  clemency  and  forbear- 
ance are  not  to  be  expected:  and.  Fourthly,  that  the 
same  principle  of  unbelief  that  excluded  the  rebellious 
children  of  Israel  from  Canaan,  will  shut  unbelievers, 
25 


290  LECTURES    OX    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

under  the  gospel  dispensation,  out  of  heaven.  Thus 
■we  are  tanght  by  the  apostle  to  the  Hebrew  Chris- 
tia-ns:  "Take  heed,  brethren,  lest  there  be  in  any  of 
yon  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief,  in  departing  from  the 
living  God: — while  it  is  said,  to-day,  if  ye  will  hear 
his  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts,  as  in  the  provoca- 
tion; \^\\\\^\x\%  to  the  very  history  now  before  ns,) 
for  some  when  they  had  heard,  did  provoke:  howbeit, 
not  all  that  came  out  of  Egypt  by  Moses;  but  with 
whom  was  he  grieved  forty  years?  Was  it  not  with 
them  that  had  sinned,  whose  carcasses  fell  i[i  the  wil- 
derness? And  to  whom  sware  he  that  they  should 
not  enter  into  his  rest,  hut  to  them  that  believed  not? 
So  we  see  that  they  could  not  enter  in  because  of  nn- 
belief  Let  us,  therefore,  fear,  lest  a  promise  being 
left  us  of  entering  into  his  rest,  any  of  you  should 
seem  to  come  short  of  it;  for  unto  us  was  the  gospel 
preached,  as  well  as  unto  them:  bnt  the  word  preach- 
ed did  not  profit  them,  not  hein^  mixed  with  faith  in 
tliem  that  heard  it.^'  Heb.  iii.  and  iv. 

Passing  by  many  events  connected  with  the  incor- 
rigible wickedness  of  the  people,  in  the  course  of 
their  wanderings,  the  next  thing  that  seems  to  claim 
special  notice,  is  the  rebellion  of  Korah  and  his  faction. 
This  was  an  attempt  to  break  down  the  spirits,  and 
curtail  the  influence  of  Moses  and  Aaron.  Korah 
was  a  Levite.  Dathan,  Abiram,  and  On,  whom  he  as- 
sociated with  himself  in  the  seditious  project,  were  of 
the  tribe  of  Reuben.  These  were  the  ringleaders; 
but  the  whole  faction  amounted  to  two  hundred  and 
fifty,  said  to  have  been  men  of  renown,  and  chiefly 
Levites.  The  complaint  was,  that  Moses  and  Aaron 
took  too  much  upon  them; — and  that  they  acted  from 
sinister  motives.  It  was  alleged  that  all  the  congre- 
gation were  holy,  and  that,  therefore,  all  distinctions 
of  rank  and  oflice  were  encroachments  on  the  peo- 
ple's rights  and  privileges.  Moses,  as  usual  interce- 
ded and  remonstrated;  and,  after  due  consideration, 
referred  the  whole  matter  to  a  divine  and  infallible 
decision:  Take,  says  he.  Numb,  xvi.,  every  man  his 
censer  and  put  incense  in  them,  and  bring  ye  before 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  291 

the  Lord,  (i.  e.,  at  the  tabernacle,)  two  hundred  and 
fifty  censers;  thou  also,  and  Aaron  each  of  you  his 
censer: — even  to-morrow,  the  Lord  will  show  who 
are  his,  and  who   is  holy.      The   proposition   being 
agreed   to,  Moses  finahy  staked   his  character  and 
pretensions  on  the  issue;  saying,  "  Hereby,  ye  shall 
know  that  the   Lord  hath  sent  me  to  do  all  these 
works;   (for  I  have    not   done   them   of  mine   own 
mind,)  if  these  men  die  the  common  death  of  all  men, 
or  if  they   be  visited  after  the  visitation  of  all  men, 
then  the  Lord  hath  not  sent  me.     But  if  the  Lord 
make  a  new  thing,  and  the  earth  open  lier  mouth  and 
swallow  them  up,  with  all  that  appertain  unto  them, 
and  they  go  down  quickly  into  the  pit,  then  ye  shall 
understand  that  those  men  have  provoked  the  Lord." 
The  result  was  as  might  have  been  expected.     The 
earth  did  open  her  mouth,  and  swallow  up  all  that 
appertained  unto  Korah,  and  all  their  goods:  and  a 
fire  from  the  Lord  consumed  the  two  hundred  and 
fifty  men  that  offered  incense.    And,  as  a  memorial  of 
the  fact,  and  a  warning  to  others,  the  censers  of  the 
rebels  were  beaten  into  plates,  and  used  as  a  cover- 
ing for  the  altar.     Shortly  after  this  fearful  catastro- 
phe, a  remnant  of  the  same  leaven  beginning  to  ope- 
rate, the  mal-contents  were  visited  by  a  plague,  which 
cut  oft'  fourteen  thousand  seven  hundred,  besides  those 
who  perished  in  the  matter  of  Korah.     The  divine 
legation  of  Moses  being  pretty  clearly  established  by 
these  terrible  visitations  of  God  upon  those  who  pre- 
sumed to  question  his  authority,  the  priesthood  was 
shown  to  belong,  of  right  and  exclusively  to  the  house 
of  Aaron,  by  a  supernatural  sign,  exhibited  summa- 
rily  as   follows:     Twelve   rods,   branches   probably 
taken  from  an  almond  tree,  one  for  every  tribe,  and 
the  name  of  each  on  its  rod  respectively,  were  order- 
ed to  be  laid  up  in  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation 
before  the  testimony,  over  night;  "And  it  shall  come 
to  pass,  saith  the  Lord,  Numb.  xvii.  5,  that  the  man's 
rod  whom  I  will  choose  shall  blossom;  and  will  make 
to  cease  from  me  the  murmurings  of  the  children  of 
Israel,  whereby  they  murmur  against  you.     And  it 


292  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

came  to  pass  accordinglv,  (ver.  S.)  that  on  the  mor- 
row. Moses  went  into  the  tabernacle  of  witness,  and, 
])ehold,  the  rod  of  Aaron,  for  the  house  of  Levi,  was 
budded  and  brought  forth  buds,  and  bloomed  blos- 
soms, and  yielded  almonds.'^  And  in  memory  of 
this  divine  attestation  to  the  indubitable  right  of  Aarou 
and  his  family  to  exercise  the  functions  and  enjoy  the 
emoluments  of  the  priesthood,  this  blooming  rod  was, 
by  divine  direction,  preserved  in  the  tabernacle,  zm  or 
hy  the  side  of  the  ark. 

Should  skepticism  suggest,  that  "possibly  this  af- 
fair of  the  rod  may  have  been  a  juggle,  or  a  pious 
Iraud  of  Moses,  to  allay  jealousies  and  put  his  bro- 
ther's family  in  peaceable  possession  of  a  respectable 
office,''  let  it  be  remembered,  that  the  suggestion  goes 
to  impugn  the  character  of  Moses,  as  if  he  were  a  dis- 
lionest  man.  But  allowing,  for  sake  of  the  argument, 
that  the  end  in  this  case  might  justify  the  means,  is  it 
not,  to  say  the  least,  extremely  improbable  that  any 
imposition  could  have  been  practised  on  the  occasion? 
Here  were  at  least  twelve  men,  heads  of  the  tribes — 
men  of  discernment,  and  deeply  interested,  to  be  dealt 
with.  Their  names  had  been  inscribed  on  the  rods, 
which  no  doubt  were  carefully  examined:  when  pro- 
duced the  next  day,  they  would  of  course,  be  re- 
exannned;  and  had  the  slightest  symptom  of  deceit 
been  discovered  it  would  have  been  published,  and 
charged  upon  Moses.  But  nothing  of  this  kind  ap- 
pears. Every  man,  we  are  told,  took  his  rod,  and 
departed  in  peace.  Had  Moses,  as  the  objection  im- 
plies, substituted  another  rod  in  the  place  of  that 
which  had  been  laid  up  the  day  before,  inscribed  with 
Aaron's  name,  it  seems  difficult  to  conceive  how  a 
second  could  have  been  procured,  so  nearly  resem- 
bling the  first  as  to  escape  detection.  But  above  all, 
lie  must  have  been  a  juggler  of  no  ordinary  skill, 
who  could,  in  the  space  of  four  and  twenty  hours,  or 
even  in  a  whole  year  produce  a  rod  bearing  huds^  and 
blossoms,  and  y)-?^//,  all  at  the  same  time:  and  then 
that  this  said  rod  should  be  laid  up,  and  preserved, 
with  religious  care,  and  the  fraud  never  be  detected. 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  293 

He  that  can  believe  all  this,  as  the  effect  of  craft, 
might,  one  would  suppose,  believe  in  a  well  attested 
miracle. 

It  was  remarked  in  the  beginning  of  this  lecture, 
that  there  is  a  meaning  in  all  the  dispensations  of 
Providence,  and  that  a  profitable  use  may  be  made 
of  them.  What  then  was  the  design  of  keeping  the 
Israelites  forty  years  in  the  wilderness?  and  what 
useful  lessons  are  to  be  gathered  from  the  history  of 
their  peregrination?  As  to  the  design,  it  is  unfolded 
summarily,  Deut.  viii.  2,  "Thou  shalt  remember  all 
the  way,  which  the  Lord  thy  God  led  thee  these  forty 
years  in  the  wilderness,  to  humble  thee  and  to  prove 
thee,  to  know  what  was  in  thine  heart,  whether  thou 
loouldst  keep  his  commandments  or  not.^^  God  de- 
signed to  demonstrate,  by  an  experiment  made  in  cir- 
cumstances altogether  favourable  to  a  true  and  certain 
result,  that  man  is  a  depraved  creature,  and  that  he 
stands  in  need  of  divine  grace  to  make  him  what  he 
ought  to  be,  and  what  he  must  be,  before  he  can  be 
happy.  Another  design  was,  to  show  the  world  that 
the  Creator  governs  his  intelhgent  creatures  in  righ- 
teousness— that  he  will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty 
— that  he  is  a  just  God  and  a  Saviour — and  that  he 
guards  and  provides  for  his  church  graciously,  and  in 
covenanted  faithfulness;  so  that  they  who  fear  him 
have  nothing  else  to  fear,  and  they  who  sin  against 
him,  wrong  their  own  souls  and  make  their  perdition 
certain  and  inevitable.  The  lessons  to  be  learned  from 
this  history  are  numerous  and  weighty.  Take  the 
following,  among  others  that  might  be  specified  did 
time  permit.  Learn  to  renounce  all  confidence  in  the 
flesh.  Your  nature  is  sin  and  weakness.  You  need  a 
new  heart  and  a  right  spirit;  and  these  are  blessings 
which  none  but  God  can  give  you.  There  is  a  hope 
set  before  you  in  the  gospel.  "Believe  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  "  To-day,  if 
ye  will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts."  To- 
day is  an  accepted  time;  a  day  of  grace — a  day  of 
merciful  visitation:  To-morrow  may  be  to  you  as  the 
day  of  retribution. 
25^ 


294  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

Let  the  children  of  Zion  learn  to  confide  in  the  pro- 
I'idence  of  their  Heavenly  Father.  He  who  fed  Israel 
with  manna,  and  snpplied  them  with  water,  educed 
from  a  rock  in  a  desert  land,  will  never  suffer  you  to 
want  any  thing  that  is  really  good  for  you.  Your 
Joshua  has  taken  possession  of  the  Canaan  above,  in 
your  name;  and,  if  a  legion  of  angels  should  be  neces- 
sary for  your  safe  keeping,  while  in  this  wilderness  of  a 
world,  tliey  are  at  his  command;  and  as  they  worship 
him,  so  they  delight  to  do  his  will  by  ministering  to 
the  heirs  of  salvation.  "Fear  not,  little  flock;  it  is 
your  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you  the  king- 
dom." Fear  not  the  perils  of  the  way;  your  guide 
and  guardian  is  infallible.  Fear  not  the  last  enemy; 
inhale  the  spirit,  and  join  in  the  triumphant  song  of 
those  who  have  gone  before  you:  "  0  grave,  where 
is  thy  victory;  0  death,  where  is  thy  sting!"  "The 
sting  of  death  is  sin,  and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the 
law;  but  thanks  be  to  God,  who  giveth  us  the  vic- 
tory, through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ!" 


LECTURE  XXXI. 

THE  BRAZEN  SERPENT  A  TYPE  OF  CHRIST. 

Therefore  the  people  came  to  Moses  and  said,  We  have  sinned,  for 
we  have  spoken  against  the  Lord,  and  ag-ainst  thee ;  pray  unto  the 
Lord,  that  he  take  away  the  serpents  from  us.  And  Moses  prayed 
for  the  people.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  make  thee  a  fiery 
serpent,  and  set  it  upon  a  pole  :  and  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  every 
one  that  is  bitten,  when  he  looketh  upon  it  shall  live.  And  Moses 
made  a  serpent  of  brass  and  put  it  upon  a  pole,  and  it  came  to 
pass,  that  if  a  serpent  had  bitten  any  man,  when  he  beheld  the 
serpent  of  brass,  he  lived. — Numbers,  xxi.  7-9. 

We  learn  from  an  infalUble  source,  Heb.  iv.  2,  that 
the  gospel  was  preached  to  the  Israelites,  under  the 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAI*    HISTORY.  295 

Mosaic  economy  as  well  as  to  those  who  Uved  under 
the  Christian  dispensation.  The  form  in  which  it 
was  proclaimed  to  them  difiers  from  that  in  which  it 
is  presented  to  us;  bnt  the  substance  is  the  same,  and 
the  design  the  same  in  both  cases.  To  them,  the  plan 
of  salvation  was  exhibited  under  a  variety  of  pro- 
phetic and  symbolical  representations,  connected  with 
ceremonial  rites,  which,  though  tedious  and  burden- 
some, were  nevertheless  well  adapted  to  the  times 
and  circumstances  in  which  they  were  placed; — to  us 
the  same  glorious  scheme  of  redeeming  grace  is  an- 
nounced, in  much  greater  simplicity,  and  with  pecu- 
liar facilities  for  obtaining  a  competent  knowledge  of 
it,  and  a  joyful  hope  of  an  interest  in  it.  These  ob- 
servations are  supported  by  a  multitude  of  instances 
recorded  in  the  Sacred  Oracles;  and  by  none,  perhaps, 
more  forcibly  than  by  that  which  is  to  be  the  theme 
jdi  this  lecture.  The  limits  of  these  brief  sketches  of 
Biblical  History,  will  not  admit  of  particular  atten- 
tion to  every  thing  of  this  sort  that  occurs;  but  the 
brazen  sei^pent,  as  it  has  been  adduced  by  Christ  to 
to  illustrate  the  nature  of  evangelical  faith,  seems  to 
demand  special  regard.  In  attending  to  the  subject, 
we  will  notice, — first,  the  occasion  on  which  this  re- 
markable type  was  instituted;  secondly,  its  fitness  to 
set  forth  the  way  of  salvation  through  Christ;  and 
thirdly,  the  practical  use  which  should  be  made  of  it. 
I.  The  occasion  was  this: — Soon  after  the  death  of 
Aaron  and  Miriam,  which  took  place  on  the  borders 
of  the  promised  land,  and  probably,  in  the  thirty- 
eighth  year  of  their  sojourning  in  the  wilderness,  it 
became  necessary,  in  order  to  avoid  an  unseasonable 
and  disadvantageous  conflict  with  the  Edomites  and 
other  hostile  tribes,  to  make  a  retrograde  movement, 
as  if  about  to  return  to  the  Red  Sea.  This  was  felt 
to  be  a  grievous  disappointment,  as  they,  no  doubt, 
expected  in  a  few  days  to  enter  Canaan,  and  termi- 
nate their  painful  wanderings.  The  first  generation 
of  emigrants  from  Egypt,  were  by  this  tinie,  chiefiy 
cut  off  by  death.  But  the  children  inherited  much  of 
the  evil  disposition  of  the  parents.     They,  in  their 


296  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

turn,  murmured  against  llie  providence  of  God,  and 
assailed  his  servant  Moses  with  bitter  complaints  of 
the  tediousness  of  the  way,  the  scarcity  of  water,  and 
the  lightness  of  the  manna.  Hereupon,  God  saw  fit 
to  visit  them  with  a  desolating  judgment,  in  the  form 
of  venomous  fiery  serpents,  which  occasioned  great 
distress  and  mortality  among  the  people.  As  the 
Scriptures  say  very  little  about  these  noxious  reptiles, 
the  following  short  account  of  them,  taken  from  wri- 
ters on  natural  history,  may  be  acceptable.  The  He- 
brew terms  used  to  designate  them,  signify  buriiing^ 
and  winged  serpents.  They  are  said  to  be  common 
in  Egypt  and  Arabia;  and  they  would  be  exceed- 
ingly destructive,  but  that  Divine  Providence  has,  in 
mercy  to  man  and  other  animals,  endued  them  with 
an  instinctive  propensity  to  self-destruction,  the  young 
brood,  destroying  the  mother,  and  the  mother  her 
mate,  whenever  a  fresh  litter  is  born.  The  ibis,  also, 
or  Egyptian  stork,  it  is  said,  feeds  upon  them,  and 
seems  to  take  pleasure  in  killing  them;  which  may 
have  given  rise  to  the  worship  which  the  ancient 
Egyptians  paid  to  that  fowl.  Herodotus  and  Bochart 
say,  that  the  serpents  in  question,  strongly  resemble 
(if  tliey  are  not  the  very  same,)  those  which  the 
Greeks  and  Latins  call  Hydrse.  These  authors  des- 
cribe them,  as  being  short,  and  spotted  with  various 
colours,  and  having  wings  like  the  bat; — as  frequent- 
ing trees  that  bear  spices,  and  marshes,  where  the  aro- 
matic reed  called  casia,  grows;  and  tell  us,  that  when 
the  Arabians  go  to  collect  casia,  they  cover  them- 
selves all  over,  excepting  their  eyes,  with  skins  to  es- 
cape being  bitten  by  these  dangerous  creatures:  (See 
Stackhouse's  His.  Bib.) — The  Israelites  it  would  seem, 
had  been  hitherto  preserved  from  these  destructive 
serpents;  but  now,  as  a  token  of  the  divine  displeasure, 
they  are  commissioned  to  execute  vengeance  on  the 
rebellious.  The  scourge  is  a  tremendous  one;  it  is 
sensibly  felt,  and  acknowledged  to  be  a  righteous  vis- 
itation of  God.  The  people  are  humbled  under  it ; 
confess  their  sin,  and  beg  Moses,  to  intercede  for 
them.      "We    have    sinned;    for   we  have   spoken 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  297 

against  the  Lord,  and  against  tliee:  Pray  unto  the 
Lord  that  he  take  away  the  serpents  from  us:  and 
Moses  prayed  for  the  people."  But,  tiiough  the 
Lord's  ears  are  ever  open  to  the  cries  of  the  penitent 
in  distress,  and  his  ami  always  able  to  bring  deliver- 
ance, yet  he  chooses  his  own  method  of  alTording 
relief  to  the  alHicted.  This  is  fit  and  proper;  and  in 
this  we  should  cheerfully  acquiesce:  because  the  only 
wise  God  knows  better  than  we  can  know,  what 
methods  of  grace  will  comport  best  with  his  own 
glory,  and  the  real  good  of  liis  creatures.  The  fiery 
serpents,  like  the  mischiefs  of  sin,  are  not  to  be  anni- 
hilated, but  a  remedy  is  provided  against  their  des- 
tructive inlluence:  and  the  elHcacy  of  the  remedy  re- 
sults from  the  divine  appointment — not  from  any 
suitableness,  which  we  may  be  able  to  discern,  in  the 
means  employed  to  answer  the  end  contemplated. 
God,  regarding  the  intercession  of  his  faithful  minis- 
ter, and  pitying  the  people  in  great  distress,  which, 
however,  they  had  brought  upon  themselves  by  their 
iniquities,  directed  JNIoses  to  procure  a  brazen  image, 
resembling  one  of  those  poisonous  vermin  whose 
sting  was  so  fatal,  and  to  elevate  it  on  a  pole,  in  the 
midst  of  the  camp,  so  that  all  might  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  it.  To  this  strange  but  divinely  in- 
slituied  symbol  the  sufferers  were  instructed  to  look, 
with  confidence  in  the  appointed  remedy  and  in  des- 
pair of  relief  from  any  otlier  quarter.  "And  it  came  to 
pass,  says  the  sacred  historian,  that,  if  a  serpent  had 
bitten  any  man,  when  he  beheld  the  serpent  of  brass, 
he  lived.'^ — Such  was  the  occasion  on  which  this  re- 
markable type  was  instituted,  and  such  were  its  origi- 
nal use  and  form.  We  may  add  here,  that  this  bra- 
zen image  was  preserved  in  Israel  about  seven  hun- 
dred years — till  the  reign  of  Hezekiah,  kingof  Judah, 
who,  upon  finding  that  it  had  become  an  object  of 
superstitious  reverence,  caused  it  to  be  broken  in 
pieces,  and  gave  it  the  name  of  Nehushtan,  i.  e.,  a 
brazen  bawble.  2  Kings  xviii.  4.     Let  us 

n.  Inquire  into  the  fitness  of  this  emblem,  as  a 
medium   of  religious   instruction.      That  it  was  in- 


298  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    fllSTORr. 

tended  to  be  a  typical  representation  of  the  gospel 
plan  of  redemption,  will  scarcely  be  questioned,  when 
it  is  recollected  that  our  I.ord  referred  to  it  as  such, 
■when  he  preached  the  gospel  to  Nicodemus:  "As 
Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even 
so  must  the  Son  of  man  be  lifted  up;  that  whosoever 
believelh  in  him,  should  not  perish,  but  have  eternal 
life."  John  iii.  14,  15.  If  it  should  be  thought  un- 
natural to  employ  the  image  of  so  vile  a  creature  as 
a  serpent,  to  represent  the  holy  and  immaculate  Re- 
deemer, let  it  be  remembered,  that  crucifixion  was  a 
very  odious  and  shameful  death;  yet  Christ  was  cru- 
cified, and  that  according  to  the  determined  purpose 
of  infinite  wisdom;  and  the  peculiarly  glorious  doc- 
trines of  Christianity  have  been  long  denominated 
THE  DOCTRINES  OF  THE  CROSS.  A  serpeut  was  the 
first  creature  that  was  pronounced  accursed,  after  the 
fall  of  man;  and  Christ  is  said,  by  Paul,  to  have  been 
made  a  curse  for  us — and  to  have  been  made  sin  for 
us,  that  we  might  be  redeemed  from  the  curse,  or  pe- 
nalty of  the  law,  and  be  made  the  righteousness  of 
God,  in  Him.  Gal.  iii.  13;  2  Cor.  v.  21. 

But  the  aptitude  of  the  type  does  not  consist  so 
much  in  the  image  employed,  as  in  its  appointment — 
the  manner  in  which  it  was  exhibited — the  duty  en- 
joined in  relation  to  it  — and  the  blessing  attendant  on 
a  right  use  of  it.  (1.)  When  every  other  expedient 
failed — when  the  people  of  Israel  were  perishing  by 
reason  of  the  envenomed  stings  of  the  fiery  serpents, 
Jehovah  appointed  a  remedy  which  was  perfectly 
adequate,  and  which  was,  at  once,  seen  to  be  quite 
beyond  the  reach  of  human  skill.  So,  when  all  other 
methods  of  rescuing  man  from  the  power  of  sin  were 
found  ineffectual,  "  God  gave  his  only  begotten  Son, 
that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  might  not  perish, 
but  have  everlasting  life."  Here  the  analogy  is  clear 
and  striking  between  the  type  and  antitype.  In  both, 
we  see  grace  reigning  through  righteousness; — the 
creature's  dependence,  and  the  Creator's  mercy  man- 
ifested together,  and  in  beautiful  accordance.  (2.)  The 
manner  in  which  the  sacred  emblem  was  exhibited, 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    IIISTORV.  299 

shows  i(s  appositeness,  as  a  means  of  religions  in- 
struction. It  was  elevated  in  the  midst  of  the  camp 
of  Israel,  in  the  view  of  the  multitude,  where  every 
sufterer  was  allowed  to  look  upon  it  and  live.  It  was 
placed,  not  in  an  obscure  or  inaccessible  situation,  but 
on  a  pole  of  sulficient  height  to  command  the  horizon 
of  the  twelve  tribes  of  the  house  of  Israel.  Nor  is  it 
said  to  have  been  limited,  in  its  design,  to  any  par- 
ticular class,  or  given  number  of  persons.  It  preached 
good  tidings  of  great  joy  to  all  the  people.  Its  lan- 
guage was.  Whosoever  will,  let  him  look  and  live. 
Thus  Christ,  the  glorious  antitype — the  substance  in- 
dicated by  the  shadow — the  original  of  the  symbolical 
picture,  was  crucified  at  Jerusalem,  on  Mount  Calvary, 
at  the  Passover,  one  of  the  great  religious  festivals  of 
the  Jewish  nation,  in  the  view  of  an  immense  con- 
course of  people.  His  manner  of  death  was  seen — 
his  meek  and  patient  sufferings — his  prayer  for  his 
enemies  and  murderers  was  heard — his  grace  mani- 
fested towards  the  penitent  thief; — the  sympathies 
of  nature  were  witnessed,  proclaiming  the  majesty  of 
the  wonderful  suflerer — the  supernatural  darkness — 
the  rent  veil — the  cleft  rocks — the  trembling  earth, 
and  the  opening  graves !  Hear  the  witness  of  the 
Spirit  of  truth  concerning  the  divine  testimony  pub- 
hcly  borne  to  Jesus,  when  about  to  be  lifted  up,  and 
offered  as  a  sacrifice  for  the  healing  of  our  moral  ma- 
ladies:  "Now  is  my  soul  troubled;  and  what  shall  I 
say?  Father,  save  me  from  this  hour?  hut  for  this 
cause  came  I  unto  this  hour.  Father,  glorify  thy 
name:  Then  came  there  a  voice  from  heaven,  say- 
ing, I  have  both  glorified  it,  and  will  glorify  it  again. 
The  people,  therefore,  that  stood  by  and  lieard  it,  said, 
that  it  thundered ;  others  said,  that  an  angel  spake  to 
him.  Jesus  answered  and  said,  this  voice  came,  not 
because  of  me,  but  for  your  sakes:  now  is  the  judg- 
ment of  this  world :  now  shall  the  prince  of  this 
world  be  cast  out:  and  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the 
earth,  will  draw  all  uien  unto  meV  John  xii.  27— 
32.  In  the  Scriptures,  and  in  the  ministry  of  recon- 
ciliation, Christ  crucified  is  exhibited,  or  as  it  is  some- 


300  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HI5?T0nr. 

times  expressed,  elevated  on  the  pole  of  the  gospel, 
as  the  power  of  God,  and  the  wisdom  of  God,  unto 
salvation  to  every  one  that  helieves  in  his  name.  In 
the  commission,  under  which  his  ministers  officiate  in 
holy  things,  it  is  ordained  that  the  good  tidings  of  re- 
demption, through  his  blood,  shall  be  preached  to  all 
the  world.  The  merits  of  his  obedience  and  death 
are  continually  set  forth  in  the  ordinances  of  his 
grace.  From  the  Old,  and  from  the  New  Testament 
a  voice  issues,  and  is  reiterated  by  prophets  and  apos- 
tles, by  pastors,  arid  teachers,  and  missionaries:  "Look 
unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends  of  the  earth  ; 
— Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labour,  and  are  heavy 
laden,  and  1  will  give  you  rest; — He  that  believeth 
on  the  Son  of  God,  hath  everlasting  life; — Ho,  every 
one  that  thirsteth — come  ye  to  the  waters  ;  and  who- 
soever 7uUl^  let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely. ^^ 
The  middle  wall  of  ceremonial  partition  is  taken 
down,  since  the  Lamb,  cliosen  and  virtually  slain 
from  eternity,  has  been  actually  offered  to  take  away 
the  sin  of  the  world.  The  factitious  distinctions  of 
Greek  and  Jew,  Barbarian,  Scythian,  bond  and  free, 
all  vanish  in  Christ.  To  the  eye  of  faith,  the  Saviour 
of  the  world  is  every  where  discernible:  and  to  the 
contrite  and  wounded  soul,  every  where  and  equally 
precious.  No  diversity  of  languages — no  distance  of 
place — nor  seas — nor  mountains,  can  present  an  in- 
superable barrier  to  that  mighty  stream  of  healing 
influence^  which  issued  from  tlie  heart  tliat  was 
pierced,  by  the  soldier's  spear,  on  the  hill  of  Calvary. 
It  flows  on,  sustained  and  impelled  by  an  immutable 
decree  of  mercy;  and  has  already  reached  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Greenland,  and  those  of  South  Africa — the 
Indians  of  the  East — the  savages  of  the  West,  and 
the  Islanders  of  the  Pacific.  It  was  not  without 
meaning,  therefore,  that  the  brazen  symbol  was  pub- 
licly exhibited  in  the  camp  of  Israel. 

(3.)  The  duty  enjoined,  in  relation  to  it,  is  the  next 
point  to  be  noticed.  Here,  if  I  mistake  not,  we  shall 
find  a  strong  resemblance  between  the  sign  and  the 
thing  signified.    "And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  every 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  301 

one  that  is  bitten,  when  he  lookcthupon  it,  shall  live: 
And  it  came  to  pass,  accordini>ly,  that  if  a  serpent  had 
bitten  any  man,  when  he  beheld  the  serpent  of  brass, 
he  lived."  The  langnage  of  tiie  Spirit  is  concise  on 
the  snbject;  but  it  obviously  implies,  that  the  wounded 
Israelite,  sensible  of  his  disease,  and  renouncing  all 
confidence  in  every  other  expedient,  was  to  look  upon 
the  instituted  symbol  with  entire  dependence  on  the 
gracious  power  of  God  to  heal  him,  and  rescue  him 
from  impending  death.  And  was  not  this  to  preach 
the  gospel  to  him?  What  is  the  gospel  but  a  reve- 
lation of  a  divine  scheme,  whereby  sinners  of  the  hu- 
man family  are  saved  from  sin  and  perdition,  by  free 
grace  abounding  through  a  constituted,  chosen,  and 
acceptable  JNlediator?  Admitting  that  the  Israelite's 
views  concerning  the  Messiah  were  imperfect,  and  in 
some  points  erroneous,  still,  in  the  case  now  before 
us,  and  in  many  others,  he  must  have  been  convinced 
that  the  favours  and  mercies  bestowed  upon  him 
came  through  a  mediatorial  channel,  inasmuch  as  he 
knew  they  flowed  from  the  hand  of  Ilim,  who  had 
peremptorily  declared,  that  he  would  by  no  means 
char  the  guilty:  that  is,  that  sin  must  be  expiated, 
before  the  transgressor  could  be  acquitted;  and  that 
the  penalty  of  the  law  must  take  effect,  either  on  the 
offender,  personally,  or  on  his  voluntary  and  accepted 
surety.  This  doctrine  was  taught  by  a  ritual,  with 
which  every  intelligent  son  of  Israel  must  have  had 
some  acquaintance.  If  the  gospel  was  preached,  as 
an  apostle  assures  us  it  was,  to  the  ransomed  tribes  of 
Jacob's  race,  it  must  have  been  proclaimed  through 
the  medium  of  types  and  sacrifices.  We  do  not 
know  what  measure  of  knowledge  is  essential  to  a 
true  faith  in  the  Redeemer;  but  if  Abraham  did  not 
know  enough  of  him,  to  be  a  true  believer  in  Him 
ttiat  ivas  to  come  into  the  ivorld,  as  the  glory  of 
Israel,  and  a  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  then  it 
could  not,  with  truth  and  propriety  be  said,  as  it  is 
explicitly  afiirmed,  by  Paul,  that  Christians  are  the 
children  of  Abraham,  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  Now 
let  us  see  what  the  great  duty  is,  to  which  we  are 


302  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

urged,  in  reference  to  the  Lord  Jesns  Christ,  under 
the  gospel  dispensation,  and  mark  the  correspondency 
of  the  shadow  to  the  substance.  "If  ye  beheve  not 
that  I  am  He,  ye  shall  die  in  your  sins — He  that  be- 
lievelh  and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved,  and  he  that 
believeth  not  shall  be  damned — Believe  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shall  be  saved."  But  we  need 
cite  no  more  passages.  To  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  is 
the  great  commandment  of  the  gospel.  The  act  is 
sometimes  described,  figuratively,  by  the  expressions, 
coming  to  him — receiving  him — eating  his  flesh, 
and  drinking  his  blood,  &c.  But  all  the  forms  of 
diction  used  in  Scripture  on  the  subject,  involve  the 
idea  of  complete  dependence  on  Christ,  connected 
with  a  sense  of  our  own  unworthiness,  weakness, 
misery  and  guilt.  When  we  trulij  believe  we  "  re- 
ceive Jesus  Christ,  and  rest  upon  him  alone  for  salva- 
tion, as  he  is  offered  to  us  in  the  gospel:''  and,  as 
God  is  in  Christ,  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself, 
what  is  faith,  but  an  unqualified  reliance  on  the  mer- 
cy and  grace  of  our  Creator,  exercised  towards  us, 
through  the  mediation  of  his  beloved  Son,  in  whom 
he  is  accessible,  propitious,  and  reconcilable  to  sin- 
ners? Is  there  not  then,  as  regards  the  duty  enjoined 
in  relation  to  both,  a  very  striking  correspondency 
between  the  type  and  the  antitype — the  emblem  and 
the  thing  denoted  thereby?  To  the  Israelite,  stung 
by  the  fiery  serpent,  the  command  is,  Look  and  live. 
To  the  sinner,  poisoned  by  sin,  and  ready  to  die  the 
death  eternal,  the  word  is,  Believe  and  be  saved. 
The  principle  in  both  cases  is  the  same;  and  it  is  a 
principle  of  uncompromising  submission  to  the  author- 
ity, and  undivided  confidence  in  the  free  grace  of  Je- 
hovah of  hosts. 

(4.)  As  to  the  last  point  of  resemblance;  viz.  the 
blessing  attendant  on  the  right  use  of  the  sign,  and  of 
the  thing  signified,  respectively,  but  little  need  be  said. 
The  blessing  is  secured,  in  each  case,  by  the  veracity 
of  Him  whose  promise  is  as  infallible,  as  his  power  is 
irresistible; — "whose  very  word  of  grace  is  strong  as 
that  which  rolls  the  stars  along.'' — "If  a  serpent  had 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  303    , 

bitten  any  man,  when  he  looked  upon  the  serpent  of 
brass,  he  hved." — "He  that  beUeveth  on  the  Son, 
hath  everlasting  life; — My  sheep  hear  my  voice,  and 
I  know  them,  and  they  follow  me,  and  I  give  unto 
them  eternal  life; — Because  I  live  ye  shall  live  also; 
— There  is  now,  therefore,  no  condemnation  to  them 
that  are  in  Christ  Jesus: — Your  life  is  hid  with  Christ 
in  God.'^  Has  the  faithful  and  true  Witness  given 
these  pledges,  and  shall  lie  not  redeem  them?  Has 
he  spoken,  and  shall  he  not  bring  it  to  pass?  When 
and  where  has  he  ever  failed  to  accomplish  his  pro- 
mise? Is  he  not  a  God  of  truth,  in  whom  is  no  varia- 
bleness, or  shadow  of  change?  Did  he  heal  every 
obedient  Israelite  that  looked  to  the  appointed  sym- 
bol of  his  mercy;  and  shall  he  not  save  the  soul  that 
believes  the  gospel,  confiding  in  the  truth  and  grace 
which  came  by  Jesus  Christ?  Yea,  verily;  ''They 
that  trust  in  the  Lord,  shall  be  as  Mount  Zion.'^ — 
We  have  seen  the  aptitude  of  the  brazen  serpent,  as 
a  typical  medium  of  religious  instruction:  we  have 
seen  that  it  embodied  the  principle  of  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ — the  sun  of  the  moral  system — the  central 
glory  of  the  redeeming  plan — the  Alpha  and  the 
Omega  of  the  Bible — the  Saviour  and  the  hope  of 
the  world. — And,  now, 

HI.  W^hat  practical  lessons  are  we  to  deduce  from 
this  subject?  If  God  intended,  by  the  brazen  serpent, 
and  other  types  of  the  Patriarchal  and  Mosaic  dis- 
pensations, to  teach  mankind  the  necessity  of  a  Me- 
diator, and  to  direct  their  views  to  Him  who  in  the 
New  Testament,  is  styled  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and 
the  life,  then  is  it  not  of  vast  importance  for  us  to 
have  genuine  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  the  only  Mediator 
between  God  and  man?  If  a  sinner  may  be  saved 
without  faith  in  the  Messiah,  why  such  immense 
pains  to  prepare  the  world  for  his  advent?  What 
rational  meaning  can  we  give  to  the  types,  and  sacri- 
fices, and  ceremonies  of  the  Hebrew  ritual?  Why 
so  many  well  authenticated  tokens  of  his  matchless 
glory — as  well  when  he  died  on  the  cross,  as  when 
he  was  born  in  Bethlehem  and  cradled  in  a  manger? 


304  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

Why  does  he  himself,  and  his  evangelists  and  apos- 
tles after  him,  make  the  salvation  of  the  soul  to  hinge 
upon  a  believing  reliance  on  the  sacrifice  of  his  hlood, 
and  the  merit  of  his  righteousness?  Do  you  say  you 
cannot  see  any  good  reason  why  your  eternal  felicity 
should  be  suspended  on  your  having  faith  in  Jesus? 
The  wounded  and  dying  Israelite  might  have  said, 
with  much  greater  plausibiHty,  that  he  could  not  see 
why  his  being  healed  should  depend  on  his  looking 
upon  the  brazen  serpent;  yet  he  looked  and  lived. 
And,  remember,  believing  in  Christ  is  something  more 
than  a  sign.  It  is  an  exercise  of  the  soul,  whereby  it 
becomes  interested  in  the  Redeemer,  as  the  covenant 
head  of  his  people.  By  believing  in  Jesus,  you  ap- 
propriate to  yourself  the  merit  of  his  obedience  and 
sacrifice,  for  justification  and  eternal  life,  without 
which  the  Scriptures  teach  you,  that  you  can  never 
be  justified  and  received  into  God's  holy  and  happy 
family.  Again;  by  faith  in  Jesus,  you  become  united 
to  God,  not  essentially,  but  by  the  only  bond,  through 
which  a  creature  can  hold  communion  with  the  Cre- 
ator; so  that,  without  faith  it  is  as  much  impossible 
to  enjoy  God,  as  to  please  him.  Faith,  moreover,  is 
a  principle  of  sanctification,  as  it  is  the  only  genuine 
principle  of  obedience.  "  The  love  of  Christ  con- 
straineth  us,'^ — heareth  us  along,  through  all  hin- 
drances. His  yoke  is  easy  and  his  burden  is  light. 
Looking  unto  Jesus,  is  the  grand  secret  of  holy  living; 
and,  '^  without  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord.'' 
Let  us,  then,  without  gainsaying,  acquiesce  in  God's 
way  of  saving  sinners.  We  have  ruined  ourselves — 
in  him  is  our  help:  "Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any 
other."  The  word  of  invitation  issues  from  the  cross 
— "Look  unto  me,  and  be  saved  all  ye  ends  of  the 
earth;  for  I  am  God,  and  besides  me  there  is  no 
Saviour!" 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  305 


LECTURE  XXXII. 


THE  CHARACTER  AND  PROPHECY  OF  BALAAM. 

I  siiall  see  him,  but  not  now:  I  shall  behold  Jiim,  but  not  nigh: 
There  shall  come  a  star  out  of  Jacob,  and  a  sceptre  shall  rise  out 
of  Israel,  and  shall  smite  the  corners  of  Moab,  and  destroy  all  the 
children  of  Sheth.  And  Edom  shall  be  a  possession ;  Seir  also 
shall  be  a  possession  for  his  enemies  ;  and  Israel  shall  do  valiantly. 
Out  of  Jacob  shall  come  he  that  shall  have  dominion,  and  shall  des- 
troy him  that  remaineth  of  the  city. — Numbers  xxiv.  17-19. 

Balaam,  whose  character  and  prophecy  will  form 
the  subject  of  this  lecture,  was  a  singular  man.  He 
is  first  introduced  to  our  notice  in  the  sacred  history, 
when  the  Israelites,  towards  the  termination  of  their 
sojourning  in  the  wilderness,  reached  the  plains  of 
Moab.  He  appears  to  have  been  a  magician  of  Chal- 
dea,  who  by  practising  the  art  of  divination,  or  for- 
tune-telling among  a  superstitious  people,  had  ac- 
quired great  influence  and  celebrity,  not  only  in  his 
native  country,  but  among  the  surrounding  nations  of 
the  East.  Accordingly,  Balak,  then  king  of  the  Moab- 
ites,  finding  that  Israel  had  encamped  on  his  borders, 
and  intending  to  make  war  upon  them,  sent  for  Ba- 
laam to  come  and  curse  them,  i.  e,,  imprecate  the  ven- 
geance of  the  gods  upon  them,  agreeably  to  ancient 
custom,  previous  to  the  commencement  of  actual  hos- 
tilities. The  soothsayer,  at  first,  seemed  to  be  very 
conscientious,  professed  an  unwilhngness  to  engage 
in  the  enterprise  without  divine  authority,  and  claim- 
ed time  to  ascertain  the  will  of  heaven  on  the  subject. 
What  means  he  used  to  obtain  direction  on  the  occa- 
sion, we  are  not  informed;  but  it  pleased  the  God  of 
Israel  expressly  to  forbid  the  undertaking:  ^^Thou 
26* 


306  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

shalt  not  go  with  the  men;  tliou  shalt  not  curse  the 
people,  for  they  are  blessed.'^  Hereupon  the  invita- 
tion of  Balak  was  dechned,  and  the  messengers  dis- 
missed. But,  in  the  hope,  no  doubt,  of  overcoming 
the  magician's  scruples  by  large  rewards,  a  second 
embassy  was  despatched,  composed  of  men  of  note 
and  high  standing  at  the  court  of  Moab,  repeating 
the  king's  urgent  request,  on  terms  of  unbounded 
liberality.  Balaam  still  hesitates,  and  makes  strong 
professions  of  integrity,  and  contempt  of  filthy  lucre: 
<'If  Balak  would  give  me  his  house  full  of  silver  and 
gold,  I  cannot  go  beyond  the  word  of  the  Lord  my 
God,  to  do  less  or  more."  This  sounds  very  well; 
but  mark  the  influence  of  a  ruling  passion.  His  heart 
went  after  its  covctousness;  and  therefore,  he  spares 
no  pains  to  make  his  duty  accord  with  his  wishes. 
Here,  the  man's  character  is  disclosed,  the  mask  drops 
off,  and  we  see  that  he  was  actuated  by  unworthy 
motives.  Had  he  been  a  good  man,  he  would  have 
rejected  the  bribe,  and  dismissed  the  ambassadors, 
without  hesitation.  The  will  of  God  had  been  clearly 
revealed;  and  why  should  he  expect  a  change  in  the 
divine  purpose.^  It  is  always  dangerous  to  listen  to 
considerations  calculated  to  encourage  a  deviation 
from  the  path  of  known  duty.  He,  who  stops  to 
daily  with  temptation,  is  half  conquered;  and  has 
reason  to  fear  being  left  of  God,  to  follow  his  own 
devices  in  the  way  to  ruin.  This  remark  is  forcibly 
illustrated,  and  shown  to  be  worthy  of  special  atten- 
tion, by  the  history  before  us.  Balaam,  bent  on  his 
object,  and  loving  the  wages  of  unrighteousness,  was 
allowed  to  follow  his  evil  inclination,  though  with 
manifest  tokens  of  the  divine  displeasure.  God,  im- 
pliedly said  to  him,  in  answer  to  his  hypocritical 
prayers  and  feigned  scruples  of  conscience.  Go,  act 
out  that  which  is  in  your  heart — but  abide  the  conse- 
quences. And  was  this  a  license  to  do  a  wrong  thing? 
Far  from  it.  God  only  declined  coercing  his  moral 
agency;  on  the  obvious  principle,  that  involuntary 
or  forced  services  cannot  be  either  praiseworthy,  or 
blameable.     For  this  reason,  God  permits  thousands 


LECTURES    OX    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  307 

of  sinners  to  pursue  practices,  of  whicli  he  by  no 
means  approves;  nor  are  men's  sins  the  less  heinous, 
because  infinite  power  is  not  interposed  to  prevent 
their  conin)ission. 

Balaam  seems  to  have  been  so  infatuated  as  to  con- 
clude, that  because  the  permission  just  mentioned, 
was  granted,  he  had  in  some  sort,  the  divine  sanction, 
for  obeying  the  summons  of  Balak.  He,  therefore, 
set  forward  with  the  princes  of  Moab,  elated,  doubt- 
less, with  the  expectation,  that  the  mission  would 
prove  a  lucrative,  if  not  a  successful  one.  But  he 
had  not  proceeded  far  before  he  met  with  a  signal 
and  mortifying  indication  of  the  divine  displeasure. 
"God's  anger  was  kindled  because  he  went:  and  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  stood  in  the  way,  for  an  adversary 
against  him."  And,  as  it  would  seem,  to  bring  into 
contempt  the  art  which  he  practised,  and  by  which  he 
had  acquired  the  reputation  of  wisdom  and  sanctity, 
the  dumb  beast  on  which  he  rode,  was  so  far  endued 
with  the  power  of  speech,  as  to  reprove  him  in  an 
audible  and  intelligible  tone.  In  regard  to  this  extra- 
ordinary fact  we  have  only  to  remark,  that  it  was  a 
miracle,  and,  that  all  miraculous  events,  of  whatever 
nature  they  may  be,  are  alike  easy  to  Him  with  whom 
all  things  are  possible,  except  such  as  involve  an  ab- 
solute solecism.  That  the  fact  did  occur,  as  Moses 
relates  it,  we  have  the  unequivocal  testimony  of  the 
apostle  Peter,  who,  speaking  of  Balaam,  with  other 
evil-workers,  says,  that  "  he  was  rebuked  for  his 
iniquity;  the  dumb  ass,  speaking  with  man's  voice, 
forbade  the  madness  of  the  prophet:"  2  Pet.  ii.  16. 
God,  however,  never  works  a  miracle  without  good 
reason,  or  some  important  end  to  be  promoted  there- 
by; and,  generally,  the  design  is  either  made  known, 
or  easily  discoverable.  In  this  instance,  the  influence 
of  the  magical  art,  which  had  become  very  extensive 
and  pernicious,  was  designed  to  be  brought  into  dis- 
repute— and  the  church  and  truth  of  Jehovah  were 
intended  to  be  protected  from  a  formidable  combina- 
tion of  insidious  and  powerful  enemies.  By  this  oc- 
currence, Balaam's  confidence  in  the  warrantablcness 


308  LECTURES    OX    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

and  success  of  his  undertaking  was  evidently  a  good 
deal  impaired ;  and  liis  language,  on  the  occasion, 
indicated  something  like  repentance.  When  God 
opened  his  eyes  to  behold  the  angel,  with  a  drawn 
sword,  opposing  his  progress,  and  his  ears  to  hear 
the  appalling  declaration — '•  Behold,  I  went  out  to 
withstand  thee,  because  thy  way  is  perverse  before 
me,"  he  fell  on  his  face,  confessed  his  sin,  and  inti- 
mated a  willingness,  if  it  was  really  necessary,  "  to 
get  him  back  again."  But  his  heart  was  not  changed 
— his  purpose  was  unaltered — he  still  indulged  a  wish 
that  the  law  of  duty  might  be  so  modified  as  to  com- 
port with  the  accomplishment  of  his  wishes.  *'I  have 
sinned,"  says  he ;  and,  now,  if  it  displease  thee,  I 
will  get  me  back  again."  If  it  displease  thee!  See 
how  the  unsanciified  heart  cleaves  to  its  darling  ob- 
ject! What  further  evidence  would  he  have  had, 
that  his  conduct  was  displeasing  to  God?  He  had 
been  expressly  told  that  Israel  were  blessed,  and  that 
he  ought  not  to  favour  the  views  of  their  enemies,  in 
seeking  their  injury.  Was  not  this  sufficient?  Why 
did  lie  not  abandon  the  wicked  design,  and  sacrifice 
the  rewards  of  divination  immediately?  Because  the 
lust  of  money  predominated  in  his  heart  over  the  love 
of  duty.  And  are  not  multitudes  of  mankind  going 
in  the  way  of  Balaam,  in  this  respect?  It  matters  but 
httle  what  the  ruling  passion  is;  if  it  be  a  bad  one, 
and  if  it  obtain  the  ascendancy,  it  invariably  renders 
a  man's  way  perverse  before  the  Lord.  Hence  you 
find  sinners  often,  under  affliction,  and  in  the  prospect 
of  great  sufferings,  professing  repentance,  and  talking 
of  reformation,  if  it  be,  indeed,  necessary,  in  order  to 
escape  future  punishment.  But  while  sin  retains  its 
dominion  in  the  heart,  there  is  no  real  desire  to  be 
made  holy — no  hungering  and  thirsting  after  righ- 
teousness— no  sorrowing  after  a  godly  sort — no  meet- 
ness  for  the  heavenly  glory — no  peace  with  God — no 
hope  in  Christ — no  part  or  lot  in  the  imperishable  in- 
heritance of  the  saints  in  light.  And  yet,  it  is  affect- 
ing to  observe,  what  pains  persons  in  this  state  of 
mind  often  take  to  keep  up  the  appearance  of  sane- 


LECTlTiES    OX    EIBLTCAL    HISTORY.  309 

lity,  and  reverential  regard  for  the  laws  and  ordi- 
nances of  God.  When  Balaam  came  to  the  king  of 
Moab,  he  pretended  that  he  could  do  nothing,  less  or 
more,  aside  from  the  revealed  law  of  duty:  ^<  Lo,  I 
am  come  unto  thee:  have  I  now  any  power  at  all  to 
say  any  thing?  The  word  that  God  pntteth  in  my 
mouth,  that  shall  I  speak. '^  Costly  sacrifices  are  or- 
dered to  propitiate  the  God  of  Israel — the  clioson  of 
the  Lord  are  acknowledged  to  be  a  happy  people; — 
the  ardent  petition  is  heard:  "Let  me  die  the  death 
of  the  righteous;  let  my  last  end  be  like  liis!"  while 
he,  forthwith,  betakes  himself  to  his  enchantments  to 
spell  out  permission  to  curse  and  devote  to  destruction 
those  whom  Jehovah  liad  pronounced  blessed.  What 
infatuation — what  self-deception — what  mockery  of 
God  !  0  let  us  remember,  that  nothing  but  truth  in 
the  inward  man  will  be  of  any  avail  with  the  Searcher 
of  hearts.  The  way  of  transgressors  is  hard.  Con- 
fusion and  disappointment  await  them  at  every  step 
of  tlieir  downward  career.  No  art,  no  wisdom,  no 
combination  of  powers  can  prevail  against  the  coun- 
sels of  the  Almighty.  After  repeated,  laborious,  and 
expensive  attempts,  the  project  of  Balak,  and  the  sor- 
cerer in  whose  skill  he  confided,  utterly  failed.  No 
advantage  could  be  gained  over  the  people  whose 
God  was  the  Lord;  and,  while  the  king,  in  a  fit  of 
passion,  orders  the  soothsayer  to  depart,  as  not  hav- 
ing been  able  to  answer  his  purpose,  Balaam  is  con- 
strained to  bear  testimony  to  the  glory  of  Israel,  and 
to  utter  a  remarkable  prophecy  concerning  Christ  and 
his  spiritual  kingdom.  We  proceed  to  a  brief  con- 
sideration of  the  import  of  this  prophecy. 

"I  shall  see  him;  but  not  now:  I  shall  behold  him; 
but  not  nigh:  There  shall  come  a  star  out  of  Jacob, 
and  a  sceptre  shall  rise  out  of  Israel,  and  shall  smite 
the  corners  of  INIoab,  and  destroy  all  the  children  of 
Sheth.  And  Edoni  shall  be  a  possession ;  Seir  also 
shall  be  a  possession  for  his  enemies;  and  Israel  shall 
do  valiantly.  Out  of  Jacob  shall  come  he  that  shall 
have  dominion y  and  shall  destroy  him  that  remainetli 
of  the  city." 


310  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

Oil  this  prediclion,  we  may  remark,  first:  That,  in 
comnioii  with  several  other  prophecies,  it  has  a  pri- 
mary,diud  an  ultimate,  or  more  exahed  meaning.  It 
refers,  primarily,  to  David,  subsequently  king  of 
Judah,  who  obtained  a  complete  conquest  over  the 
kingdoms  of  INIoab  and  Edom,  as  well  as  some  other 
neighbouring  tribes,  as  we  learn  from  2  Sam.  ii.  and 
xiv.,  and  other  passages  of  sacred  Scripture.  2dly. 
That  it  refers,  ultimately  and  mainly,  to  Jesus  Christ, 
of  wliom  David  was  a  type  and  progenitor:  and  this 
application  is  justified  and  confirmed  by  various  other 
prophecies,  in  which  the  Redeemer  is  described  as 
subduing  heathen  nations  to  the  obedience  of  faith, 
and  as  destroying  the  incorrigible  enemies  of  his 
kingdom.  3dly.  That  the  sceptre  is  used  as  an  em- 
blem of  kingly  authority,  and  a  rising  star  to  denote 
the  appearance  of  some  illustrious  personage,  to  bless 
and  enlighten  the  world.  And  is  it  not  probable,  that, 
by  a  knowledge  of  this  prophecy,  preserved  in  the 
archives  of  the  orientals,  the  wise  men  of  the  East 
were  induced,  prompted  by  the  extraordinary  meteor 
mentioned  by  them,  to  visit  Jerusalem  and  Beth- 
lehem, at  our  Saviour's  birth,  saying,  "  Where  is  he 
that  is  born.  King  of  the  Jews?  for,  we  have  seen  his 
star  in  the  East?^^  And,  as  a  respectable  commen- 
tator suggests,  if  these  wise  men  were  descendants  of 
Balaam,  which  is  quite  possible,  then  he  might  say,  in 
reference  to  Christ,  ''I  shall  see  him  ;  (i.e.,  in  my  pos- 
terity) but  not  now:  I  shall  behold  him;  but  not  nigh." 
But,  possibly,  by  seeing  Jesus  at  a  distance,  and  at. a 
future  day,  the  prophet  might  refer  to  his  second  ad- 
vent, to  judge  the  world ;  when  we  are  assured,  in 
other  passages  of  Scripture,  that  "every  eye  shall  see 
him — and  they  who  pierced  him  shall  wail  because 
of  his  coming."  Then,  indeed,  all  his  enemies  shall 
see  him,  "  but  not  nigh ;"  for  they  will  be  driven 
away  into  outer  darkness,  and  "punished,  with  ever- 
lasting destruction  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  and 
from  the  glory  of  his  power." — "  Out  of  Jacob  shall 
HE  come,"  says  Balaam,  "  who  shall  have  dominion, 
and  shall  destroy  him  that  remaineth  of  the  city." 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  311 

And,  says  David,  in  Psalm  Ixxii.  S,  9,  "He  shall 
liave  dominion  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  river 
unto  the  ends  of  tlie  earth ;  they  that  dwell  in  the 
wilderness  shall  bow  before  him,  and  his  enemies 
shall  lick  the  dust." — And,  says  Paul,  the  apostle, 
1  Cor.  XV.  25,  "  He  mnst  reign  till  he  hath  put  all 
enemies  under  his  feet." — "  There  shall  come  a  star 
out  of  Jacob,"  says  Balaam.  And,  says  the  Re- 
deemer, when  disclosing  a  glimpse  of  his  glory  to 
the  beloved  disciple,  in  Patmos,  "  I,  Jesus,  have  sent 
mine  angel  to  testify  unto  you  these  things  in  the 
churches :  I  am  the  root  and  tfie  ojfsprins^  of  David, 
and  the  bright  and  Morning  Star."  Rev.  xxii.  16. 
Thus  much,  as  to  the  meaning  of  this  prophecy,  and 
our  authority  for  applying  it  to  Jesus  Christ. 

Who  would  expect,  after  the  utterance  of  so  many 
expressions  of  admiration  of  Israel,  and  of  Israel's 
Redeemer,  to  find  this  famous  man  of  Chaldea,  plot- 
ting mischief  against  the  people  whose  God  he  pro- 
fessed to  adore,  and  whose  latter  end  he  had  pro- 
nounced blessed  and  desirable.?  Yet,  such  was  the 
fact.  His  next  expedient  was  to  seduce  the  people 
into  lewdness  and  idolatry^  as  if  knowing  that  no- 
thing but  sin  could  separate  between  them  and  their 
God.  And,  in  this  evil  device  he  succeeded,  by  call- 
ing to  his  aid  the  idolatrous  women  of  Midian  and 
Moab.  The  consequences  were  direful;  a  judgment 
from  the  Lord — a  destructive  war,  anil  the  loss  of 
many  lives;  and,  among  the  rest,  Balaam  himself 
fell  in  the  bloody  conflict:  Numb.  xxxi.  S,  16.  Thus 
perished  the  man,  whose  conduct,  so  far  as  we  are 
made  acquainted  with  it,  was  a  perfect  riddle.  He 
was  originally  a  sorcerer,  far-famed  for  his  intimacy 
and  influence  with  the  world  of  spirits.  Then,  when 
it  seemed  to  favour  his  selfish  ends,  he  was  a  pro- 
fessed worshipper  of  the  true  God.  At  one  time,  we 
see  him  courted  by  Balak,  the  king;  at  another,  re- 
proved by  the  most  stupid  of  animals.  Now,  we 
hear  liim  sing;  "How  goodly  are  thy  tents,  0  Jacob, 
and  thy  tabernacles,  0  Israel  !" — But,  anon,  we  see 
him  busy  with  his  enchantments,  seeking  occasion 
against  the  people,  whose  praises  he  had  just  been 


312  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORr. 

celebrating.  To  screen  the  impotency  of  his  art,  he 
avows  his  obligation  to  obey  the  word  of  the  Lord; 
but,  when  his  necromancy  and  dissimulation  both 
fail,  he  throws  ofl'  the  veil,  and,  by  an  artful  appeal 
to  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  succeeds  in  making  Israel  to 
sin;  and,  finally,  falls  on  the  plains  of  Moab,  taken, 
ensnared,  and  ruined,  in  the  fearful  consequences  of  a 
wicked  project  of  his  own  devising.  In  vain  did  he 
wish  to  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  while  he  loved 
the  rewards  of  iniquity.  The  good  Lord  save  us 
from  following  his  steps,  and  from  sharing  in  his 
doom  ! 

We  conclude  with  a  few  practical  reflections.  First ; 
Let  us  beware  of  covetousness;  which  an  apostle  as- 
sures us  (Col.  iii.  5,)  is  idolatry — a  sin  against  which 
the  anathemas  of  God  are  reiterated  throughout  the 
Bible.  This  was  Balaam's  master-passion.  This  it 
was  that  urged  him  forward  in  a  perverse  way — 
that  made  him  belie  his  avowed  principles,  and, 
eventually,  drowned  him  in  perdition.  The  caution 
of  our  Savioiy:,  on  this  point,  is  peculiarly  emphalical 
and  worthy  of  regard:  "Take  heed,  and  beware  of 
covetousness;  for  a  man's  life  consisteth  not  in  the 
abundance  of  the  things  which  he  possesseth:"  Luke 
xii.  15.  jNIoney  is  a  useful  thing,  when  in  circula- 
tion; but,  when  hoarded  up,  for  the  sake  of  calling 
it  our  own,  it  can  be  of  no  use,  for  the  time  being, 
either  to  ourselves  or  others.  Let  us,  then,  try  to 
keep  the  love  of  if  within  legitimate  bounds,  by  doing 
good  and  communicating,  as  we  have  opportunity: 
With  such  sacrifices  God  is  well  pleased,  and  our 
fellow  men  may  be  greatly  benefited.  Secondly;  Let 
preachers  and  other  professors  of  the  true  religion 
remember,  that  privileges  and  professions  are  not 
graces.  The  tares  grow  in  the  same  field  with  the 
wheat:  and  God  sometimes  employs  the  services  of 
bad  men,  in  accomplishing  his  purposes  of  grace. 
Some  of  the  worst  characters  have  exercised  the 
holiest  functions,  for  a  season,  and  then  been  cast 
oft'  for  their  wickedness.  Balaam  spoke  in  exalted 
terms  of  the  blessedness  of  the  church  of  God,  and 
was  used,  as  an  instrument,  in  announcing  one  of  the 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  313 

most  Striking  prophecies  on  record,  concerning  the 
Redeemer  of  the  world.  King  Saul  was  among  the 
prophets:  Judas  Iscariot  was  among  the  twelve  apos- 
tles, and  may  have  been  the  means  of  bringing  sin- 
ners to  repentance.  And  many,  we  learn  from  the 
best  authority,  will  plead  in  the  day  of  judgment, 
"Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not  prophesied  in  thy  name? 
and  in  thy  name  have  cast  out  devils?  and  in  thy  name 
done  many  wonderful  works?  to  whom  the  Judge 
will  answer,  I  never  knew  you;  depart  from  me  ye 
that  work  iniquity.''  Matt.  vii.  22,  23.  These  are 
awful,  but  salutary  truths,  calculated  to  convince  us 
that  outward  advantages,  forms,  and  sacred  otfices 
will  be  of  no  avail  to  the  saving  of  our  souls,  without 
the  power  of  godliness,  and  the  indwelling  of  the 
holy,  sanctifying  Spirit.  0  how  needful  it  is,  that 
every  one  of  us  should  adopt  sincerely,  and  with 
importunity,  the  prayer  of  David — "  Search  me,  0 
God,  and  know  my  heart:  Try  me,  and  know  my 
thoughts;  and  see  if  there  be  any  wicked  way  in  me, 
and  lead  me  in  the  way  everlasting." 

Thirdly;  Let  us  not  attempt  lo  compromise  mat- 
ters between  the  favour  of  God  and  the  love  of  the 
world.  That  no  man  can  serve  two  masters,  is  a 
maxim  of  common  sense,  sanctified  by  inspiration. 
Why,  then,  should  we  halt  and  hesitate  between  two 
opinions?  If  the  Lord  be  God,  let  us  serve  him,  and 
him  only.  The  terms  of  Christian  discipleship  are 
before  us,  in  strong  and  intelligible  language;  "If  any 
man  will  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and 
take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  me: — and  where  I  am, 
there  shall  my  servant  be  also."  Nor  are  these  terms 
arbitrary.  From  the  nature  of  the  case,  from  the  state 
of  the  world,  from  the  character  of  our  malady,  and 
from  the  essential  holiness  of  heaven,  they  are  indis- 
pensable. "  The  lust  of  the  flesh,  and  the  lust  of  the 
eyes,  and  the  pride  of  life  is  not  of  the  Father,  but  is 
of  the  world:  and  the  world  passeth  away,  and  the 
lust  thereof;  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  God  abideth 
for  ever."  1  John  ii.  16,  17.  The  Saviour  claims  our 
hearts,  and  his  demand  is  valid.  Let  us^  therefore, 
27 


314  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

give  ourselves  to  him,  without  reserve.  His  yoke  is 
easy,  and  his  burden  is  light.  Blessed  are  they  who 
put  their  trust  in  Him! 

Finally;  Let  us  learn  from  the  history,  which  Ave 
have  been  reviewing,  not  to  yield  to  faithless  fear,  in 
relation  to  the  safety  and  prosperity  of  Zion.  She  is 
founded  on  a  rock;  and  no  weapon  formed  against 
her  can  prevail.  Her  Maker  is  her  husband;  the 
Lord  of  hosts  has  her  in  his  holy  keeping.  A  Ba- 
laam may  plot,  and  a  Balak  may  offer  large  rewards, 
for  her  injury;  but  her  Redeemer  is  mighty  to  save. 
The  star  out  of  Jacob  will  shine  into  her  dark  places; 
and  the  sceptre  of  Israel  will  guard  her  interests  and 
defend  her  children  from  their  spiritual  enemies.  Jesus 
shall  have  dominion.  The  heathen  are  given  to  him, 
by  covenant,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth. 
"  His  name  shall  endure  for  ever;  his  fame  shall  be 
continued  as  long  as  the  sun:  men  shall  be  blessed 
in  him;  and  all  nations  shall  call  him  blessed.  Blessed 
be  the  Lord  God — the  God  of  Israel,  who  only  doth 
wondrous  things:  and  blessed  be  his  glorious  name 
for  ever:  Let  the  whole  earth  be  filled  with  his  glory: 
Amen,  and  Amen  V 


LECTURE  XXXIII. 

THE   DEATH   OF   MOSES,   AARON,  AND   MIRIAM,  AND   JOSHUA'S 
DESIGNATION  TO  OFFICE. 

So  Moses,  the  servant  of  the  Lord  died  there,  in  the  land  of  Moab, 
according  to  tlie  word  of  the  Lord  :  and  he  buried  liim  in  a  valley 
in  the  land  of  Moab,  over  against  Beth-peor ;  but  no  man  knoweth 
of  his  scpulclirc  unto  this  day.  And  Moses  was  an  liundred  and 
twenty  years  old  when  he  died  ;  his  eye  was  not  dim,  nor  his  natu- 
ral force  abated.  And  the  children  of  Israel  wept  for  Moses,  in 
the  plains  of  Moab,  thirty  days. — Deut.  xxxiv.  5-8. 

How  just  and  worthy  of  remembrance  is  the  reflec- 
tion of  Job ! — "  Man  that  is  born  of  a  woman  is  of 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORV.  315 

few  days,  and  full  of  trouble:  he  cometh  forth  like  a 
tlower,  and  is  cut  down;  he  fleeth  also  as  a  shadow, 
and  coiitinueth  not."  It  may  be  applied  to  the  most 
prosperous  and  happy  man  that  ever  lived.  It  is 
strikingly  exemplified  in  the  history  of  Moses,  that 
favoured  servant  of  the  Lord,  whose  last  acts,  and 
final  exit  will  form  the  subject  of  this  lecture.  His 
hundred  and  twenty  years  were  little  wiien  com- 
pared with  the  five  and  twenty  hundred  years,  of  the 
events  of  which  his  writings  give  us  a  succinct  ac- 
count, and  in  comparison  with  eternity,  nothing.  His 
trials  commenced  in  the  ark  of  bulrushes,  on  the  mar- 
gin of  the  Nile,  and  continued,  with  accumulating 
weight,  till  they  terminated  in  death,  on  the  summit 
of  Nebo,  in  the  land  of  Moab.  And  what  a  sore 
disappointment  it  must  have  been  to  him,  not  to  be 
permitted  to  enter  Canaan,  after  a  painful  pilgrimage 
of  forty  years  in  the  wilderness;  and  especially,  to 
know  that  this  privilege  was  denied  him,  as  a  punish- 
ment for  his  sin,  in  the  atiair  of  the  water  of  Meribah! 
Yet  such  was  the  righteous  decree  of  Heaven.  He 
was  only  allowed  to  take  a  view  of  the  beauteous 
landscape,  formed  by  the  plains  of  Jericho,  and  the 
fail:  cliffs  and  lofty  cedars  of  Lebanon,  and  then  yield 
implicit  obedience  to  the  irreversible  mandate — ''Dust 
thou  art,  and  unto  dust  thou  shalt  return."  The 
tear  of  nature  for  a  deceased  brother  and  sister,  was 
scarcely  dried  away,  when  the  sympathizing  mourn- 
er was  called  to  follow  his  kindred  to  the  house  of 
silence,  and  mingle  his  ashes  with  theirs.  It  has 
often  been  remarked,  though  the  observation  is  not 
always  true,  that  near  and  aged  relatives,  especially 
where  their  affection  has  been  tender  and  mutual, 
seldom  long  survive  one  another.  This  was  the  case 
with  iNIiriam,  Aaron,  and  Moses.  They  all  three 
died  within  a  year  of  each  other,  east  of  Jordan,  in 
sight  of  the  promised  land,  and  in  the  fortieth  year  of 
Israel's  sojourning  between  Egypt  and  Canaan. 

Of  the  deaths  of  Miriam  and  Aaron,  we  have  a 
short  account  in  the  twentieth  chapter  of  Numbers. 
Concerning  the  former  it  is  only  remarked,  in  few 


316  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

words,  that  "  while  the  people  abode  in  Kadesh, 
Miriam  died  there,  and  was  buried  there. '^  Moses, 
we  see,  dealt  not  in  laboured  eulogies  upon  his 
nearest  relatives.  The  reason  why  so  little  pains 
seem  to  have  been  taken  to  honour  the  memory  of 
this  woman,  at  her  death,  probably,  was  that  she 
had  headed  a  faction,  and  manifested  contempt  for  a 
divine  appointment,  on  a  certain  occasion,  for  winch 
she  had  been  visited  with  the  leprosy,  and  excluded 
from  the  camp  for  seven  days,  as  was  noticed  in  a 
former  lecture.  These  marks  of  disapprobation  were 
designed  as  a  testimony  against  wrong-doings,  and  as 
a  warning  to  others;  showing  that  God  will  have 
those  honoured,  who  honour  him,  and  that  those 
who  despise  his  ordinances  are  lightly  esteemed.  On 
the  same  principle,  only  debased  by  pagan  super- 
stition, the  Egyptians  held  a  kind  of  inquest  over  the 
bodies  of  the  deceased,  and  refused  the  ordinary  rites 
of  sepulture  to  persons  who  were  found  to  have  been 
guilty  of  certain  offences  injurious  to  public  morals. 
The  policy  of  such  a  proceeding,  to  say  nothing  of  its 
justice,  is  indubitable:  and  if  funeral  honours  were, 
by  common  consent,  denied  to  every  man  who  falls 
Avhile  wantonly  exposing  his  own  life,  and  aiming  at 
that  of  a  neighbour,  it  would  give  a  more  effectual 
check  to  duelling,  than  all  the  other  pains  and  penal- 
ties that  can  be  devised,  and  annexed  to  the  barbarous 
practice. 

Of  Aaron's  death  and  burial  we  have  a  fuller  and 
somewhat  more  honourable  account;  though,  as  a 
token  of  the  divine  displeasure,  for  the  part  which 
he  acted,  in  the  matter  of  the  golden  calf,  and,  sub- 
sequently, at  Hazeroth  and  TvJeribah,  he  was  ex- 
pressly told  that  he  should  not  enjoy  the  privilege  of 
entering  the  long  hoped  for  land  of  promise.  Yet  he 
had  been,  upon  the  whole,  not  faultless,  but,  in  the 
leading  and  master  features  of  his  character,  amiable, 
pious,  and  useful ;  and,  as  he  had  occupied  a  station 
of  eminence  in  the  commonwealth  of  Israel,  it  was 
l)efitting  that  some  suitable  marks  of  respect  should 
be  shown,  at  his  decease.     The  inspired  narrative, 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  317 

though  short,  is  exceedingly  natural  and  heautiful ; 
and  one  can  hardly  read  it  attentively,  without  emo- 
tions of  tenderness,  on  seeing  the  aged  and  venerahle 
priest,  leaving  the  great  congregation,  lor  whom  he 
had  so  long  ministered  and  interceded  hefore  the 
mercy-seat,  and  ascending  Mount  Hor,  in  ohedience 
to  the  heavenly  vision,  with  no  attendants,  save  Mo- 
ses, his  only  brotlier,  and  Eleazar,  his  eldest  son,  there 
to  lay  aside  his  robes  of  olRce,  and,  after  taking  a  last 
look  at  the  dear  charge  just  resigned,  and  a  rapid 
glance  at  the  country  beyond  Jordan,  to  die,  ai>d  be 
gathered  to  the  fathers,  who  had  fallen  asleep  before 
him  !  Thus,  when  death  shall  put  his  summons  into 
our  hands,  we  must  straightway  leave  this  Avorld, 
however  many  and  strong  the  ties  that  bind  us  to 
earth,  and  friends,  and  otficial  duties.  Nor  let  us 
defer  preparation  for  the  great  change,  on  the  pre- 
sumption that  we  shall  have  many  days'  notice  of 
our  departure.  "  Be  ye  ready,"  says  Christ,  "for  the 
Son  of  man  cometh  in  an  hour  when  ye  think  not." 
Had  Aaron  been  unprepared,  how  great  would  have 
been  his  surprise  when  the  Lord,  probably  in  his 
hearings  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  ''  Take  Aaron, 
and  Eleazar  his  son,  and  bring  them  up  unto  Mount 
Hor;  and  strip  Aaron  of  his  garments,  and  put  them 
upon  Eleazar  his  son:  and  Aaron  shall  be  gathered 
unto  his  ])eople,  and  shall  die  there?"  The  order 
appears  to  have  been  immediately  executed.  "Moses 
did  as  the  Lord  commanded;  and  they  went  up  into 
Mount  Hor  in  the  sight  of  all  the  congregation." 
The  robes  were  stripped  off  the  father,  and  trans- 
ferred to  the  son,  publicly,  to  denote  the  transfer  of 
the  office  of  high-priest  to  Eleazar,  who  ministered  in 
his  father's  stead.  "And  Aaron  died  there,  in  the  top 
of  the  mount."  Wiiat  mighty  changes!  And  how 
soon  efl'ected  by  the  irresistible  hand  of  Providence! 
How  insignificant,  in  God's  account,  is  the  pagean- 
try of  a  long  funeral  procession — a  crowded  grave- 
yard, and  expensive  monuments!  Here  we  see  the 
firsts  and  most  distinguished  ecclesiastic  in  Israel,  and 
own-brother  to  the  greatest  general  and  law-giver 
27^ 


318  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

that  ever  existed,  finishing  a  long  hfe  of  service  to 
the  community  on  the  top  of  a  rugged  mountain,  and 
that  by  divine  command,  with  only  two  relatives  to 
close  his  eyes,  and  cover  his  mortal  remains,  in  a 
plain  st3^1e,  and  in  a  sequestered  spot,  so  difficult  of 
access,  as  to  discourage  at  once  the  intrusive  visits 
of  curiosity,  and  the  idolatrous  wailings  of  affection. 
Nor  does  duty  allow  the  brother  and  son  of  the  de- 
ceased to  hnger  long  about  the  place  of  interment. 
^' Moses  and  Eleazar  came  down  from  the  mount:" 
and,  when  the  people  learned  from  them  that  Aaron, 
their  beloved  minister  was  really  dead,  appreciating 
his  services  when  deprived  of  them,  more  highly  per- 
haps than  before,  they  felt  their  loss,  and  "  mourned 
for  him  thirty  days,  even  all  the  house  of  Israel." 
This  was  a  becoming  token  of  respect  for  one  who 
had  pleaded  their  cause  before  Pharaoh;  shared,  with 
them  the  toils  of  a  tedious  pilgrimage,  borne  the 
names  of  the  twelve  tribes  before  the  ark  of  testimo- 
ny, and  been  accustomed,  for  forty  years,  to  instruct 
and  bless  them  and  their  children,  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord. 

And  now,  that  Miriam  and  Aaron  are  gone,  Moses 
is  admonished  of  his  own  approaching  dissolution. 
This  intimation,  as  first  given,  is  recorded,  Numb, 
xxvii.  12,  13,  ^'And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Get 
thee  up  into  this  mount  Abarim,  and  see  the  land 
which  I  have  given  unto  the  children  of  Israel:  and, 
when  thou  hast  seen  it,  thou  also  shalt  be  gathered 
unto  thy  people,  as  Aaron  thy  brother  was  gatheredP 
Abarim  was  the  name  of  a  range  of  mountains,  of 
which  Nebo,  with  its  lofty  summit,  called  Pisgah,  was 
one  of  the  highest  and  most  remarkable.  "  Thou  shall 
he  gathered  to  thy  people,  as  Jiaron  thy  brother  was 
gathered.^'  This  expression  is  worthy  of  notice.  It 
clearly  indicates  the  conscious  existence  of  the  soul, 
after  death.  Moses  and  Aaron  are  described  as  going 
to  their  people,  when  they  died.  The  same  is  said 
of  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob  and  others.  Their  people 
were  the  pious,  who  had  died  before  them,  and  who 
are  supposed,  by  the  language  in  question,  to  be  in  a 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  319 

condition  to  receive  them,  and  welcome  them  into 
their  society.     This  is  a  blessed  thought;  and  it  is 
uneqiiivocally  developed  and  confirmed  in  the  New 
Testament.     It  is  a  trial,  even  to  the  Christian,  to 
leave  his  friends  and  kindred  behind  him,  at  death: 
but  let  him  commend  them  to  God,  and  to  the  word 
of  his  grace;  and  let  him  remember  that  he  is  going 
to  be  gathered  to  his  people — to  God's  redeemed  peo- 
ple— to  that  great  and   happy  family,  where  death 
shall  never  make  a  breach,  where  sin  shall  never  in- 
terrupt the  sweet  stream   of  benevolence  and  bro- 
therly love.     And  let  those,  who  mourn  the  death  of 
godly  and  beloved  relations,  be  careful  to  walk  in 
their  steps,  serving  their  God  and  Redeemer,  and  the 
painful  separation  will  be  but  for  a  little  season — ^just 
long  enough  to  make  a  reunion  in  heaven  inexpress- 
ibly delightful.     This  was  the  hope  of  Moses;  and, 
in  the  exercise  of  this  hope,  see  with  what  composure, 
with  what  public-spirited  regard  for  the  welfare  of 
those  whom  he  was  going  to  leave,  he  receives  the 
summons   of  death!     True,  he   desired  and  prayed 
to  be  permitted  to  enter  Canaan,  if  it  should  comport 
with  the  divine  will;  (see  Deut.  iii.  23,  to  the  end:) 
but,  in   any  event,  he   was   resigned   and   tranquil. 
His  great  concern  was  that  the  people  of  his  charge, 
and  the  cause  of  God  might  not  suffer  by  his  removal 
from  the   field   of  labour.     Hence   his   intercessory 
prayer,  (Numb,  xxvii.  15-17:)  "Let  the  Lord,  the 
God  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh,  set  a  man  over  the  con- 
gregation, who  may  go  out  before  them,  and  who 
may  go  in  before  them — that  the  congregation  of  the 
Lord  be   not  as  sheep  which  have  no   shepherd!" 
This  prayer  was  speedily  answered.     Joshua,  of  the 
tribe  of  Ephraim,  a  man  of  an  excellent  spirit,  who 
had  been  long  in  training  for  the  important  office, 
and  who  had  signalized  himself  in  the  war  with  the 
Amalekites,  was  designated,  and  set  apart,  by  impo- 
shion  of  hands  and   other  religious  solemnities,   as 
colleague  and  successor   of  Moses.     It  is  worthy  of 
remark,  that  none  of  the  near  kindred  of  Moses  was 
chosen  his  successor;   which  shows  that  the  whole 


320  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

matter  was  of  the  Lord's  ordering;  and,  that  a  regard 
to  the  pubUc  weal  prevailed  over  all  considerations  of 
friendship  and  favouritism.  Grace,  and  other  qualifi- 
cations lor  responsible  oflices  of  trust,  do  not  descend 
from  father  to  son,  like  estates  and  titles;  and,  there- 
fore, it  is  no  marvel,  that  in  hereditary  monarchies, 
the  Idng  is  often  a  mere  puppet,  moving  obsequious 
to  the  dictation  of  his  ministers. 

After  the  appointment  of  Joshua,  Moses  seems  to 
have  entrusted  to  his  care  a  large  measure  of  the 
affairs  of  state,  and  to  have  given  himself  mainly,  for 
the  residue  of  his  life,  (which  may  have  been  some 
weeks,  if  not  months,)  to  the  duties  of  religion.  In 
this  interval,  it  is  beUeved,  he  delivered,  in  the  au- 
dience of  the  people,  most  of  what  is  comprised  in  that 
interesting  portion  of  the  Pentateuch,  called  Deuter- 
onomy, i.  e.,  the  second  law,  or  rather  the  recapitula- 
tion of  the  law.  In  this,  and  indeed,  in  the  other 
books  ascribed  to  Moses,  it  is  possible  that  Aaron, 
Joshua,  Hur,  or  some  other  person  under  his  eye,  and 
by  the  guidance  of  the  Spirit,  Tnay  have  written,  nay, 
probably,  did  write  some  small  portions;  such  as  the 
commendation  of  his  meekness,  (Numb.  xii.  3,)  and 
the  last  chapter  of  Deuteronomy,  giving  an  account 
of  his  death.  These  pieces  may  have  been,  at  first, 
appended  to  the  voluminous  writings  of  Moses,  as 
notes;  and  afterwards,  upon  being  approved  of,  as 
giving  a  true  statement  of  facts,  and  as  contributing 
to  the  more  ready  understanding  of  the  whole  history, 
they  may  have  been  incorporated  with  the  text,  when 
the  canonical  Scriptures  were  collated  by  Ezra,  or 
some  other  inspired  man  of  God,  after  the  Babylonish 
captivity.  Nor  does  this  aftect,  at  all,  either  the  au- 
thenticity or  the  genuineness  of  the  books.  The  ob- 
jections of  infidels  on  this,  as  on  most  other  subjects, 
connected  with  the  authority  of  divine  revelation,  are 
perfectly  childish  and  unfounded;  and  only  need  to  be 
tested  by  the  received  rules  of  fair  interpretation  to 
expose  their  sophistry. 

In  the  book  of  Deuteronomy,  we  have  the  farewell 
addresses  of  Moses  to  the  people  of  Israel.     These 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  321 

addresses  are  of  the  most  dignified,  and  yet  of  the 
most  tender  and  aifectionate  character  imaginable. 
Here  we  have,  indeed,  a  rich  miscellany  of  law  and 
gospel,  of  duty  and  privilege,  of  judgment  and  mere}', 
of  history  and  poetry.  The  wonderful  dispensations 
of  Providence  towards  the  ransomed  tribes,  are  re- 
counted in  a  lucid  and  forcible  style,  from  their  memo- 
rable exodus  out  of  the  house  of  bondage,  to  the  eve 
of  their  entrance  into  the  goodly  land,  promised  to 
Abraham's  seed,  in  Jacob's  favoured  line.  The  law- 
giver and  chief  magistrate  seem  lost  in  the  father  and 
minister  of  religion,  while  we  hear  him,  in  his  last  ad- 
dress, saying  to  them,  with  all  the  sanction  of  inspira- 
tion, and  the  earnest  solemnity  of  ,a  dying  saint,  <-Set 
your  hearts  unto  all  the  words  which  I  testify  among 
you  this  day;  which  ye  shall  command  your  children 
to  observe,  to  do  all  the  words  of  this  law;  for  it  is 
not  a  vain  thing  for  you;  because  it  is  your  life; 
and  through  this  thing  ye  shall  prolong  your  days  in 
the  land,  whither  ye  go  over  Jordan  to  possess  it:" 
Deut.  xxxii.  46,  47.  In  truth,  the  chapter  from  which 
this  passage  is  quoted,  is  one  of  the  finest  specimens 
of  composition  in  the  English  language.  It  is  very 
properly  entitled  in  the  table  of  contents,  "The  Lord's 
song  by  Moses."  The  sentiment  is  truly  sublime — 
the  figures  the  happiest  and  most  expressive  that 
could  have  been  chosen — and  the  appeal  to  the  judg- 
ment and  heart  of  man,  powerful  and  moving  beyond 
description.  Is  it  not  strange  that  persons  of  taste  and 
high  pretensions  to  a  love  of  learning,  do  not  read  the 
Bible  more  than  they  generally  do,  if  it  were  only  for 
sake  of  the  ancient  history  and  usages,  moral  maxims, 
and  elegant  poetry  which  it  contains?  But  this  is  a 
digression  from  our  subject. 

The  last  public  act  of  Moses,  the  man  of  God,  was 
his  pronouncing  a  prophetic  benediction  on  the  seve- 
ral tribes,  including  Simeon  with  Judah,the  lawgiver. 
The  grateful  service  performed,  much  in  the  manner 
of  good  old  Jacob,  two  hundred  and  thirty-nine  years 
before,  the  enraptured  prophet  bursts  forth  into  a 
declaration  of  the  majesty  of  God,  and  of  the  safety 


322  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

and  blessedness  of  liis  people; — and  these  are  his  last 
■words  on  record:  ''There  is  none  like  unto  the  God 
of  Jeshurun,  who  rideth  upon  the  heaven  in  thy  help, 
and  in  his  excellency  on  the  sky.  The  eternal  God  is 
thy  refuge,  and  underneath  are  the  everlasting  arms: 
and  he  shall  thrust  out  the  enemy  from  before  thee, 
and  shall  say,  destroy  them:  Israel  then  shall  dwell  in 
safety  alone:  the  fountain  of  Jacob  shall  be  upon  a 
land  of  corn  and  wine;  also,  his  heavens  shall  drop 
down  dew.  Happy  art  thou,  0  Israel;  who  is  like 
unto  thee,  0  people,  saved  by  the  Lord,  the  shield  of 
thy  help,  and  who  is  the  sword  of  thy  excellency!  and 
thine  enemies  shall  be  found  liars  unto  thee,  and  thou 
shalt  tread  upon  their  high  places!'' 

The  holy  man's  work  is  done,  and  he  is  going  to 
enter  into  the  joy  of  his  Lord.  He  ascends  the  mount, 
even  to  Pisgah's  top,  over  against  Jericho.  The  land 
given  by  covenant,  and  confirmed  with  an  oath  unto 
Abraham  and  his  seed,  spreads  out  before  him,  even 
from  Dan  unto  Zoar,  and  westward  unto  the  utmost 
sea;  for  "his  eye  was  not  dim  nor  his  natural  force 
abated."  I  have  caused  thee  to  see  it  with  thine  eyes, 
said  God^  but  thou  shalt  not  go  over  thither.  So 
JNIoses,  the  servant  of  the  Lord,  died  there  in  the  land 
of  Moab,  according  to  the  word  of  the  Lord;  and  he 
buried  him  in  a  valley  in  the  land  of  INIoab,  over 
against  Beth-peor;  but  no  man  knowcth  of  his  sepul- 
chre unto  this  day." 

Three  questions  briefly  answered,  according  to  the 
writer's  best  judgment,  will  comprise  all  which  it  is 
deemed  proper  to  say  on  this  mysterious  dispensation 
of  Providence: 

1.  Why  was  not  IMoses  allowed  to  enter  the  land 
of  promise? — Because  he  had  sinned  publicly,  and  in 
the  exercise  of  one  of  his  most  holy  functions;  Num. 
XX.  7-13.  He  smote  the  rock  at  Kadesh  twice,  with  a 
^^  Hear  now  ye  rebels;  must  \ve  fetch  you  ivater  out 
ofthisrock?^^  instead  of  simply  speaking  to  it,  before 
the  eyes  of  the  people,  as  the  Lord  commanded  him. 
For  this  faithless  and  petulant  violation  of  an  express 
command,  in  a  case  intimately  connected  with  the 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  323 

divine  glory,  the  Lord  declared  to  Moses  and  Aaron, 
"  Because  ye  believ^ed  me  not,  to  sanctify  me  in  the 
eyes  of  the  children  of  Israel,  therefore  ye  shall  not 
bring  this  congregation  into  the  land  which  I  have 
given  them."  And  God  is  faithful  in  the  execution  of 
his  threatenings,  as  in  the  fulfilment  of  his  promises. 
Beware  of  departing  from  the  revealed  law  of  duty. 
If  you  do,  you  will  forsake  your  own  mercies,  and 
suffer  loss  in  tfds  life,  if  not  in  that  which  is  to  come. 

2.  What  is  meant  by  the  Lord's  burying  Moses? — 
That  a  wonder-working  Providence  took  care  that  his 
mortal  remains  should  be  disposed  of  without  luiman 
agency,  and,  perhaps,  by  the  ministry  of  angels. 

3.  Why  was  he  ordered  away  from  his  fond  friends, 
to  die  alone,  and  without  one  kind  hand  to  close  his 
eyes;  and  why  was  the  place  of  his  interment  so  scru- 
pulously concealed? — That  the  atiection  and  respect- 
ful regards  of  the  people  might  be  the  sooner  transfer- 
red to  his  successor  in  office,  and  that  the  worship  of 
saints  and  relics,  (an  abomination  that  has  long  dis- 
graced one  section  of  the  Christian  church,)  might  be 
prevented  among  the  tribes  of  Israel. 

"Moses  was  a  hundred  and  twenty  years  old  when 
he  died;  and  the  children  of  Israel  wept  for  him  in  the 
plains  of  Moab  thirty  days;  so  the  days  of  weeping 
and  mourning  for  Moses  were  ended.''  Temperate 
expressions  of  mourning  for  the  worthy  dead,  are  not 
forbidden,  but  rather  countenanced  in  Scripture.  Da- 
vid lamented  the  death  of  Jonathan  in  the  most  pa- 
thetic strains,  and  Jesus  wept  at  the  grave  of  Laza- 
rus; but  our  moderation  in  this,  as  in  other  things, 
should  appear  unto  all  men.  As  to  the  time  and 
badges  of  mourning,  custom  governs — not  law.  One 
thing  may  be  remarked,  and  ought  to  be  remember- 
ed, on  this  subject: — Funerals,  and  mourning  dresses 
should  not  be  more  expensive  than  the  mourners  can 
conveniently  bear.  Pride  and  extravagance  may  be 
discovered  on  very  grave  and  solemn  occasions.  "Let 
all  things  be  done  decently,  and  in  order."  That  the 
children  of  Israel  should  mourn  thirty  days  for  Moses, 
can  scarcely  be  thought  an  excessive  indication  of 


324  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

respectful  regret,  at  the  death  of  such  a  man ;  for  he  was 
a  good  man — a  great  man,  and  a  highly  honoured 
instrument  of  good  to  Israel,  and  to  the  world.  Scep- 
ticism may  impugn  his  mission  and  cavil  at  his  wri- 
tings; but  his  name  will  be  revered  while  the  world 
stands — his  record  is  on  high — and  his  songs,  celebra- 
ting the  praises  of  God,  the  Redeemer,  are  sung  in 
heaven.  But 'after  all,  his  highest  praise  is,  that 
"  by  faith,  when  he  was  come  to  years,  he  refused  to 
be  called  the  son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter,  choosing 
rather  to  suffer  affliction  with  the  people  of  God,  than 
to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season:  esteeming 
the  REPROACH  OF  Christ  greater  riches  than  the  trea- 
sures in  Egypt." 


LECTURE    XXXIV. 


the    CONaUEST    OF    CANAAN.     • 

So  Joshua  took  tlie  whole  land,  according  to  all  that  the  Lord  said 
unto  Moses,  and  Joshua  gave  it  for  an  inheritance  unto  Israel,  ac- 
cording to  their  divisions  by  their  tribes;  and  the  land  rested  from 
war. — Joshua  xi.  23. 

The  principal  design  of  this  lecture  is  to  vindicate  the 
conquest  of  Canaan,  by  the  Israelites,  which  was  ef- 
fected under  Joshua,  the  successor  of  Moses,  about 
fourteen  hundred  and  thirty  years  before  the  birth  of 
Christ.  This  subject  demands  some  special  attention, 
not  only  because  it  has  given  occasion  to  sceptical 
objections  to  the  sacred  history  which  narrates  the 
fact,  but,  also,  on  account  of  the  typical  reference 
which  it  has  to  the  final  triumph  of  the  church  mili- 
tant, the  spiritual  Israel  of  God,  under  the  conduct  of 
Jesus,  the  captain  of  our  salvation. 

According  to  the  account  which  the  Bible  gives 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  325 

US  of  this  matter,  the  Israchtes,  in  dispossessing  the  in- 
habitants of  Canaan,  acted  under  a  divine  commis- 
sion. If  then,  the  history  be  true,  all  objections  to 
the  conquest  lie  against  the  authority  by  which  it  was 
achieved.  Now,  for  the  truth  of  the  narrative  con- 
cerning this  transaction,  we  have,  to  say  the  least,  as 
much  evidence  as  we  have  for  any  other  portion  of 
the  sacred  Scriptures.  This  evidence,  as  it  is  very 
complicated  and  various,  we  shall  not  attempt  to  ex- 
hibit fully,  at  present;  yet,  a  few  marks  of  its  verity, 
fnrnished  incidentally,  and  apparently  without  any 
studied  design  on  the  part  of  the  historian,  ought, 
perhaps,  to  be  summarily  noticed  here.  Let  it  be 
observed,  then,  that  the  history  of  the  Jewish  nation 
is  a  journal  kept  from  day  to  day,  as  the  events  com- 
posing it  transpired  among  the  people  to  whom  it 
principally  relates.  The  keeping  of  this  journal  was 
superintended  by  INIoses,  daring  his  life;  and  on  his 
decease,  Joshua  succeeded  him  in  this  service,  as  in 
the  other  branches  of  his  high  and  responsible  ofUce. 
The  same  series  of  annals  was  continued,  after  the 
death  of  Joshua,  by  Samuel  and  others,  and  finally, 
revised,  arranged,  and  completed  by  Ezra,  the  last 
historical  writer,  pretending  to  inspiration,  in  the  Old 
Testament.  The  whole  history,  though  penned  by 
several  hands,-  and  at  successive  periods,  is  to  be  re- 
garded as  one  continuous  chain,  of  which,  if  one  link 
be  broken,  the  whole  may  be  justly  suspected  as  a 
rope  of  sand — a  thing  of  no  strength,  and  of  no  value. 
Now,  that  an  ingenious  writer,  visiting  a  distant  tribe 
of  men,  for  the  purpose,  might,  on  his  return  to  his 
native  country,  furnish  an  untrue  account  of  the  said 
tribe,  which  should  gain  some  credit  and  currency, 
among  his  countrymen,/^;?*  a  time,  is  quite  possible; 
but  for  other  writers  to  take  up  the  subject,  and  con- 
tinue the  deception  for  several  centuries,  would  be 
very  difficult,  if  not  impossible:  and  when  commerce 
and  the  researches  of  the  learned  came  to  disclose  the 
real  history,  manners,  and  customs  of  the  supposed 
people,  the  imposture  would  inevitably  be  detected, 
and  exposed  to  general  contempt.  Now  let  us  see 
28 


326  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

how  the  matter  stands  in  regard  to  the  history  of  the 
Jewish  nation.  The  history  of  this  people  was  not 
written  by  foreigners,  but  by  native,  and  home-bread 
Israehtes; — men  of  note,  and  of  good  repute  in  the 
nation; — men,  whose  whole  conduct,  so  far  as  dis- 
closed, shows  that  they  were  concerned  to  maintain 
the  honour  of  their  countrymen,  if  that  could  be  done 
consistently  with  truth  and  honesty.  They  lived,  and 
acted,  and  aUernately  mourned  and  rejoiced — suffered 
and  triumphed  with  the  people,  whose  singular  chroni- 
cles they  have  transmitted  to  the  world,  as  the  ora- 
cles of  truth.  They  detail  transactions  to  which  they 
were  eye  witnesses,  and  many  of  which  imphcate, 
and  exhibit  as  exceedingly  blameworthy,  the  whole 
nation — their  most  prominent  characters,  and  them- 
selves, in  some  instances,  not  excepted.  What  mo- 
tive, other  than  the  love  of  truth,  could  they  have  had 
for  so  doing? 

But  supposing  these  writers  to  have  been  malicious, 
or  visionary,  as  you  please,  could  they  have  made  the 
people  receive  their  fictions  for  true  history.''  Could 
they  have  instituted,  and  caused  to  be  celebrated,  for 
a  long  course  of  ages,  expensive  and  laborious  rites 
commemorative  of  alleged  events,  which  never  really 
took  place?  Take  two  or  three  prominent  facts  and 
institutions  to  illustrate  this  idea.  If  Moses  had  not, 
under  divine  guidance,  led  the  tribes  of  Jacob  forth 
out  of  Egypt,  by  what  conceivable  art,  or  by  what 
unheard-of  infatuation  was  the  belief  that  he  did  so, 
originated;  and,  how  happens  it  that  this  belief  is 
cherished  by  the  descendants  of  Israel,  in  all  their 
dispersions  at  the  present  day?  If  the  first-born  of 
Egypt  were  not  slain  by  the  death-dealing  angel  of 
justice,  what  means  the  Jewish  passover;  and  who 
will  undertake  to  give  us  a  rational  account  of  its 
origin?  If  the  scenes  said  to  have  been  exhibited  at 
the  Red  Sea  were  fictitious — if  the  Israelites  did  not 
cross  on  the  bare  channel,  and  if  Pharaoh  and  his 
host,  in  attempting  to  pursue  them,  were  not  over- 
whelmed, and  drowned  by  a  visitation  of  God,  what 
is  the  theme  of  that  beautiful  and  sublime  hymn,  re- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  32/ 

corded  in  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  Exodus?  Wliat  is 
the  thing  intended  to  be  commemorated  by  the  feast 
of  Pentecost,  if  the  law  was  not  given  at  Sinai,  fifty 
days  after  the  exit  from  the  house  of  bondage?  And 
why  that  other  great  national  festival,  the  feast  of 
Tabernacles,  if  the  people  of  Israel  did  not  dwell  in 
tents  in  the  deserts  of  Arabia?  Whence,  and  where, 
and  why  originated  the  religious  and  ceremonial  pe- 
culiarities of  the  Jews — their  priesthood,  their  taber- 
nacle and  temple  services,  if  not  at  the  time  and  place, 
and  for  the  reasons  assigned  by  Moses  and  the  other 
writers  of  the  sacred  story?  Would  Moses,  or  any 
other  man,  in  his  right  reason,  have  dared  to  publish 
among  the  people,  of  whom  he  was  writing,  that 
they  were  supplied,  for  forty  years,  with  bread  from 
heaven,  falling  nightly,  in  and  around  their  encamp- 
ments, if  such  had  not  really  been  the  tact?  Would 
Joshua  have  had  the  hardihood  to  tell  the  story  of 
the  miraculous  passage  of  Jordan,  and  could  he  have 
prevailed  on  the  chief  of  the  fathers  to  erect  a  monu- 
ment of  twelve  stones,  in  the  bed  of  the  river,  and 
another  on  its  western  margin,  to  perpetuate  the  re- 
membrance of  a  fiction — a  wicked  and  known  false- 
hood! These  suppositions  are  too  extravagant  to  be 
entertained,  for  one  moment;  and  yet  they  must  be 
admitted,  if  the  truth  of  the  history  be  denied.  And, 
it  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  the  facts  just  mentioned, 
and  many  others,  interwoven  in  the  history,  are 
quoted,  or  alluded  to  as  true,  and  of  weighty  import, 
in  the  subsequent  books  of  Scripture,  not  only  in  the 
Old  Testament,  but  in  the  New  Testament,  by  Christ 
and  his  Evangelists,  and  Apostles:  so  that  to  reject 
the  history  of  Israel,  or  any  part  of  it,  really  involves 
the  rejection  of  Christ,  and  the  whole  Christian  sys- 
tem. 

It  ought  not  to  be  overlooked,  in  examining  the  in- 
ternal evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  Jewish  history,  that 
the  facts  recorded  were  of  a  public  nature;  that  they 
took  place,  in  the  view  of  a  numerous  people,  by  no 
means  disposed  to  submit  to  the  dictation,  or  orders 
of  their  leaders,  without  the  strongest  evidence  that 


32S  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

God  spoke  and  operated  by  Moses  and  others,  as  his 
ministers.  Yet  we  find  them  submitting,  time  after 
time,  manifestly  under  the  irresistible  hand  of  Om- 
nipotence, and  repeatedly  renewing  their  covenant 
engagements  to  do,  as  the  Lord  commanded  Moses; 
and  this  Moses  and  his  coadjutors  have  been  held  in 
the  highest  estimation  by  the  children  of  Israel,  in 
their  generations,  even  down  to  the  present  hour. 
This  certainly  indicates  pretty  clearly,  the  truth  and 
faithfulness  of  the  historical  statements  communicated 
in  the  sacred  pages  of  the  Bible. 

It  is  also  worthy  of  remark,  that  foreign  writers 
bear  testimony  to  the  truth  of  the  leading  facts,  in  the 
history  of  Israel.  This  argument  is  ably  handled  by 
the  learned  Grotius  in  his  well  known  work,  on  "The 
Truth  of  Christianity.''  The  author  of  the  celebrated 
Orphic  verses  speaks  of  Moses,  as  having  been  born 
of  water,  and  as  having  received  of  God  the  two 
great  tables  of  the  moral  law.  Strabo,  Juvenal,  Dio- 
dorus  Siculus,  Pliny,  and  Tacitus,  mention  him  as  a 
writer  of  great  merit,  and  profess  to  respect  his  history. 
Chalcidius  calls  Moses  the  wisest  of  men,  enlivened, 
not  only  by  human  eloquence,  but  by  divine  inspira- 
tion: and  ancient  writers,  generally,  commend  the 
piety  of  the  Jews,  so  long  as  they  adhered  strictly  to 
the  law,  which  they  received  by  the  hand  of  IMoses. 
Such  testimonies  as  these,  frequently  to  be  met  with 
in  pagan  writers,  show  the  estimation  in  which  the 
historical  books  of  Scripture  were  held  by  those  who 
were  no  way  interested  to  favour,  or  defend  the  char- 
acter of  the  Jewish  nation.  Indeed,  when  we  recol- 
lect that  the  conduct  of  the  Israelites,  in  invading  the 
territory  of  the  numerous  tribes  of  Canaan,  must  have 
excited  the  most  wakeful  jealousy,  it  seems  impossi- 
ble that  any  imposture,  on  their  part,  should  have 
been  practised  with  success.  There  is,  therefore,  no 
deficiency  of  evidence,  for  the  truth  of  the  history 
which  we  are  reviewing;  and  the  man  who  rejects  it, 
as  fabulous,  must,  to  be  consistent,  reject  all  historical 
testimony,  and  be  contented  with  the  little  measure  of 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  329 

knowledge  which  he  may  he  ahle  to  gather,  within  the 
narrow  circle  of  his  own  feehngs  and  ohscrv^ation. 

The  people  of  Israel  then  took  possession  of  Ca- 
naan, and  exterminated,  or  made  tributary,  the  for- 
mer inhabitants,  by  a  divine  warrant.  And  that  they 
verily  believed  they  had  a  divine  commission  to  act 
as  they  did,  appears  from  several  particulars,  which 
might  be  adduced  if  time  permitted.  We  shall  notice, 
briefly,  one  or  two  things  in  the  conduct  of  Joshua, 
which  evince  his  entire  confidence  in  the  protection  of 
God,  and  in  the  success  of  the  enterprise  on  which  he 
had  entered  by  divine  command.  The  first  is: — The 
observance  of  the  painful  rite  of  circumcision,  a  few 
days  after  crossing  Jordan.  This  rite,  because  it  dis- 
qualified the  subject  for  active  service,  for  some  time 
after  its  administration,  had  been  omitted  ever  since 
they  left  INIount  Sinai,  i.  e.,  upwards  of  thirty-eight 
years.  The  generation  that  came  out  of  Egypt,  had 
all  perished  in  the  wilderness,  excepting  Caleb  and 
Joshua  himself.  The  whole  of  the  males,  therefore, 
who  entered  Canaan,  with  the  exception  just  named, 
were  to  be  circumcised;  and  that  too,  immediately  on 
their  entrance  into  a  country  densely  inhabited  jjy  a 
people  all  on  the  alert  to  repel  the  invaders,  and  de- 
fend their  property  and  their  lives.  Yet,  when  the  will 
of  God  is  announced,  Joshua  immediately  obeys  the 
command  without  stopping,  as  he  might  have  done,  to 
allege  that  this  service  would,  at  this  critical  juncture, 
place  him  and  his  people  at  the  mercy  of  their  ene- 
mies. Nay,  more:  the  ordinance  of  circumcision  was 
preparatory  to  that  of  the  passover,  which  had  also 
been  omitted,  for  the  same  length  of  time,  on  account- 
of  their  migratory  state  in  the  wilderness:  so  that  some 
weeks  must  have  been  spent  in  religious  services,  be- 
fore a  single  village  had  been  subdued,  and  within  a 
few  miles  of  the  populous  and  well  fortified  town  of 
Jericho.  Would  a  wise  general,  such  as  Joshua  evi- 
dently was,  have  acted  thus,  without  the  fullest  per- 
suasion that  he  and  his  people  were  under  the  shield 
of  the  Almighty?  Certainly  not.  And  why  did  not 
the  enemy  come  upon  them,  in  their  disabled  circum- 
28^ 


330  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

Stances,  and  utterly  destroy  them?  Why, but  because 
they  were  overawed  and  held  in  restraint  by  the  God 
of  Israel? 

The  only  other  particular  of  this  kind,  that  our  time 
allows  us  to  notice  is — The  command  which  Joshua 
addressed  to  the  sun  and  moon,  with  the  view  of  gain- 
ing time  to  complete  the  victory  over  the  five  confe- 
derate kings,  in  the  case  of  Gibeon,  mentioned  in  the 
book  that  bears  his  name,  chap.  x.  12:  "  Sun,  stand 
thou  still  upon  Gibeon;  and  thou,  moon,  in  the  valley 
of  Ajalon!"  Would  any  man  of  common  sense  risk 
his  reputation  on  the  issue  of  such  an  order  as  this, 
without  being  fully  assured  that  it  would  be  obeyed? 
Could  any  thing  short  of  an  afflatus  from  the  God  of 
universal  nature  have  moved  a  rational,  created  be- 
ing, to  utter  such  a  command?  and  could  any  thing 
short  of  divine  influence  have  given  efficacy  to  it?  for 
it  was  promptly  obeyed:  "  The  sun  stood  still, and  the 
moon  stayed,  until  the  people  had  avenged  themselves 
upon  their  enemies." 

We  shall  offer  a  few  remarks,  now,  upon  what 
deistical  writers  call  the  great  question,  i.  e.,  whether 
it  be  consistent  with  the  justice  and  other  acknow- 
ledged perfections  of  God,  to  authorize  the  extermi- 
nation of  the  Canaanites  ?  On  tliis  point  we  shall  not 
multiply  words  to  any  considerable  extent.  Our  aim 
is,  not  so  much  to  refute  the  infidel,  as  to  guard  the 
young  against  his  blasphemy,  and  to  confirm  the  faith 
of  the  believer  in  the  divine  testimony. 

The  conduct  of  Israel,  in  Canaan,  has  been  com- 
pared to  that  of  the  Spaniards  in  Mexico-,  both,  it 
has  been  alleged  with  confidence,  acted  a  base  and 
cruel  part.  Now,  we  say,  the  cases  are  not  at  all 
parallel.  The  Israelites  acted  under  a  divine  war- 
rant, ratified  by  miracles ;  the  Spaniards  were  actu- 
ated by  avarice,  and  misguided  zeal  for  Papal  domi- 
nation. The  truth,  respecting  the  conquest  of  Canaan, 
may  be  summed  up  in  a  few  short  propositions,  to 
which,  as  it  seems  to  me,  every  discerning  mind,  dis- 
enthralled from  the  power  of  prejudice,  will  accede, 
as  postulates,  or  first  principles,  in  the  divine  govern- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  331 

ment,  viz :  "That  the  Ahiiighty  lias  an  indisputable 
right  over  the  lives  and  fortunes  of  his  creatures; — 
that  the  sin  of  nations  may  become  so  aggravated  as 
to  justify  him  in  destroying  them,  as  nations; — that 
he  is  free  to  choose  the  instruments  by  which  he  will 
eftect  such  destruction ; — that  tliere  is  not  more  injus- 
tice or  cruelty  in  effecting  it  by  the  sword,  than  by 
famine,  pestilence,  deluge,  or  earthquake; — that  the 
circumstance  of  a  divine  commission  entirely  alters 
the  state  of  the  case,  and  distinguishes  the  Israelites 
from  the  Spaniards,  or  any  other  plunderers,  as  much 
as  a  warrant  from  the  magistrate  distinguishes  the 
executioner  of  law  from  the  murderer; — that  men 
may  be  assured  of  God's  giving  such  a  commission; 
— and,  that  there  is  incontestible  evidence  upon  re- 
cord, and  from  facts,  that  the  Israelites  were  thus  as- 
sured." (See  Bishop  Home.)  If  any  one,  capable  of 
conducting  an  argument,  will  undertake  to  refute 
tifese  simple  propositions,  or  to  prove  the  converse  of 
them  to  be  true  and  just,  he  will  be  very  likely  to 
convince  himself,  that  there  was  no  unrighteousness 
on  God's  part  in  the  matter  in  question.  That  the 
Canaanites  were  a  wicked  people — that  they  were 
eminently  abandoned,  is  undeniable,  if  any  reliance 
is  to  be  placed  on  history.  They  had  been  warned; 
they  had  seen  the  cities  of  the  plain  laid  waste,  by  a 
storm  of  fire  and  brimstone.  Abraham,  and  Lot, 
and  Melchisedeck,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  had  so- 
journed among  them  and  preached  to  them;  but  they 
were  wholly  given  to  their  idols  and  their  lusts. 
Much  forbearance  was  exercised  towards  them;  they 
had  space  for  repentance;  God  waited  to  be  gracious 
for  more  than  four  hundred  years  after  they  had  be- 
come grossly  corrupt.  The  country  which  they  inha- 
bited, and  which  they  probably  took  possession  of  by 
unauthorized  conquest,  had  been  long  promised  to 
Abraham  and  his  seed,  (Gen.  xv.  16;)  but  the  Lord 
would  not  drive  them  out,  until  they  had  filled  up 
the  measure  of  their  iniquity,  and  become  ripe  for 
destruction.  And  when  incensed  wrath  did  come,  it 
fell  upon  them  gradually;  for  thus  was  Moses  instruct- 


332  LECTURES    OX    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

ed  concerning  these  devoted  sinners  :  ^'  The  Lord  thy 
God  will  put  out  those  nations  before  thee,  by  little 
and  little:  thou  mayest  not  consume  them  at  once.'''' 
"Here  we  observe,'^  says  a  learned  wrUer,*  "a  trait 
of  mercy  in  the  midst  of  judgment.  Thus  an  oppor- 
tunity was  afforded  of  escaping  by  flight.  Time  was 
also  allowed  them,  to  consider  the  wonderful  works 
of  the  true  God;  and  it  would  seem,  that  those  who 
repented  and  forsook  their  evil  ways,  were  spared, 
and  admitted  to  communion  with  Israel,  as  were  Ra- 
hab  and  her  father's  family."  Justice  requires  that 
wicked  nations  should  be  punished  in  this  tvorld,  in- 
asmuch as  they  are  not  supposed  to  exist,  as  nations, 
in  a  future  state.  It  is  not  said,  in  Scripture,  that 
these  people  were  all  consigned  to  endless  perdition ; 
and,  as  to  the  objection  made  to  the  death  of  so  many 
infants,  it  is  too  broad,  in  its  bearing,  to  be  of  any 
force  in  this  case.  Infants  are  removed  from  this 
world  by  a  great  variety  of  distressing  diseases  and 
calamities,  without  affording  any  just  ground  of  com- 
plaint, as  to  the  time  or  the  manner  of  their  removal. 
Jehovah  rules  in  righteousness ;  "let  all  the  earth  keep 
silence  before  him."  The  Avhole  territory  is  his,  by 
right  of  creation;  and  he  not  only  apportions  it  to 
the  various  tribes  of  men,  as  seems  good  in  his  sight, 
but,  very  often  for  good  reasons,  transfers  it  from  one 
nation  to  another,  in  the  exercise  of  his  indisputable 
sovereignty,  for  the  maintenance  of  his  authority,  and 
the  glory  of  his  kingdom. 

Should  it  be  alleged,  that  the  conquest  of  Canaan 
authorizes  aggressive  war  upon  an  unoffending  people, 
it  may  be  said,  in  reply,  that  any  nation,  commis- 
sioned as  were  the  Israelites  in  the  case  of  Canaan, 
would  be  mere  executioners  of  the  divine  will,  and 
therefore,  justifiable;  otherwise,  the  invasion  of  a 
state,  whether  barbarous  or  civilized,  from  motives  of 
ambition,  or  the  lust  of  gain,  is  to  be  regarded  as  rob- 
bery and  murder,  on  a  great  and  terrific  scale.  De- 
fensive  war,  when   all   other   means  of  composing 

*  Dr.  John  Jamieson. 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORT.  333 

international  disputes  have  been  tried  in  vain,  may, 
perhaps,  be  sustained  by  the  laws  of  self-preservation; 
but  wars,  wa'ged  for  the  display  of  superior  power,  or 
for  the  acquisition  of  territory,  or  commercial  advan- 
tages, at  the  expense  of  other  nations,  are  incapable 
of  rational  vindication,  on  any  principle,  either  of 
sound  morality  or  common  sense.  To  resort  to  deadly 
strife  in  defence  of  our  honour,  or  even  of  our  un- 
questionable rights,  is  the  sure  way  to  make  bad 
worse,  as  it  invariably  puts  in  jeopardy  interests  of 
far  more  importance  than  those  which  give  rise  to 
the  contest.  It  is  high  time  that  a  custom  so  base  in 
its  origin,  and  so  fraught  with  mischief  to  the  happi- 
ness of  mankind,  and  so  adverse  to  the  evangeliza- 
tion of  the  world,  should  yield  to  the  obvious  dictates 
of  humanity  and  religion.  ^'  Righteousness  exalteth 
a  nation,  but  sin  is  the  reproach  of  any  people;"  and, 
we  may  add,  that  sin — national  sin — will  be  the  ruin 
of  any  people.  This  is  the  momentous  lesson  taught 
by  the  overthrow  of  the  ancient  Canaanites.  God  is 
just  and  holy;  and  he  has  declared,  that,  "though 
hand  join  in  hand,  the  wicked  shall  not  go  un- 
punished."— "  ]5lessed  are  the  people  whose  God  is 
the  Lord!"  JNlay  the  rulers  and  legislators  of  our 
happy  republic  be  richly  endued  with  the  vv^isdom 
that  is  from  above;  so  that  our  national  affairs  may 
be  conducted  in  righteousness,  and  in  the  spirit  of 
peace,  and  with  a  due  regard  to  the  glory  of  God, 
and  the  permanent  well  being  of  our  great  and  grow- 
ing nation ! 


334  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 


LECTURE  XXXV: 

THE  LAST  ACTS  AND  DEATH  OF  JOSHUA. 

And  it  came  to  pass,  after  these  things,  tliat  Joshua,  the  son  of  Nun, 
the  servant  of  the  Lord,  died,  being-  an  hundred  and  ten  years  old; 
and  they  buried  him  in  the  border  of  his  inheritance,  in  Timnath- 
serah,  which  is  in  mount  Ephraim,  on  the  north  side  of  the  hill  of 
Gaash.  And  Israel  served  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  Joshua,  and 
all  the  days  of  the  elders  that  overlived  Joshua,  and  which  had 
known  all  the  works  of  the  Lprd,  which  he  had  done  for  Israel. — 
Joshua  xxiv.  29-3 L 

In  our  last  lecture,  we  offered  some  considerations  in 
vindication  of  the  conquest  of  Canaan,  showing,  that 
it  was  effected  by  a  divine  commission,  for  the  glory 
of  God  as  connected  with  the  maintenance  of  his  wor- 
ship, the  preservation  of  his  truth  and  ordinances,  and 
the  good  of  his  church,  in  all  subsequent  periods  of 
the  world.  Joshua  acted,  in  this  whole  matter,  as  the 
Lord's  servant.  We  have  noticed  his  conduct,  as  a 
consecrated  warrior;  let  us  now  see  how  he  behaved, 
under  the  success  which  attended  his  arms: — Mark 
the  spirit  with  which  he  closed  the  duties  of  his  high 
and  responsible  station; — observe  the  influence  of  his 
example  and  instructions  on  the  people  of  his  charge; 
and  then  endeavour  to  take  some  practical  lessons 
from  the  subject. 

I.  The  expulsion  and  extermination  of  the  devoted 
people  of  Canaan,  was  a  work  of  time.  From  the 
passage  of  Jordan  to  the  distribution  of  the  land  by 
lot,  to  the  several  tribes  of  Israel,  must  have  been  not 
less  than  seven  years.  During  this  period  the  war 
was  carried  on  with  vigour,  under  the  superintend- 
ence of  that  illustrious  personage,  who  appeared  to 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  335 

Joshua,  at  Jericho,  with  a  drawn  sword  in  hand,  and 
proclaimed  himself,  "  Captain  of  the  Lord's  host.'' 
This  was  none  other  than  the  angel  of  the  covenant, 
our  adorable  Redeemer,  as  appears  from  his  accept- 
ing divine  honours,  and  from  his  commanding  the  son 
of  Nun  as  he  had  done  Moses,  forty  years  before,  at 
the  burning  bush  in  Iloreb,  to  take  oft'  his  shoes  from 
his  feet,  for  that  "  the  place  whereon  he  stood  was 
holy  ground."  Even  while  the  war  continued,  the 
pious  leader  of  Israel  was  not  inattentive  to  the  duties 
of  religion.  The  sacraments  of  circumcision  and  the 
passover  were  celebated;  the  blessings  and  threaten- 
ings  of  the  law  were  published  in  the  audience  of  the 
people,  and  they  were  admonished  by  altars,  sacrifices, 
and  faithful  warnings,  of  the  importance  of  trusting 
in  the  living  God,  in  all  their  conflicts  and  military 
movements.  And  no  sooner  had  the  Lord  given  him 
rest  from  his  enemies,  than  we  find  him  taking  mea- 
sures to  settle  the  affairs  of  government,  agreeably 
to  the  directions  which  he  had  received  from  the  holy 
oracle.  The  land  was  distributed  in  lots,  apportioned 
to  the  number  of  souls,  in  the  tribes,  severally,  except 
that  of  Levi,  the  ministers  of  the  sanctuary,  for  whose 
support,  as  well  as  to  meet  the  expense  of  maintain- 
ing public  worship,  a  permanent  tax  was  levied  on 
the  produce  of  the  country,  and  a  certain  number  of 
towns,  with  their  suburbs,  were  allotted  to  the  priests 
and  levites,  where  they  ordinarily  resided,  and  super- 
intended the  general  interests  of  religion  and  litera- 
ture, when  not  engaged  in  the  duties  of  public  wor- 
ship. The  tabernacle  was  erected  at  Shiloh,  where 
the  ordinances  of  religion  were  administered  and  at- 
tended by  the  people,  with  great  solemnity,  for  up- 
wards of  three  hundred  years.  Indeed,  the  spirit  of 
Joshua  was  a  spirit,  not  of  ambition  and  violence, 
but  of  meekness  and  piety.  His  military  success  was 
uniformily  made  subservient  to  the  glory  of  God  and 
the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  people,  whom  he  govern- 
ed. When  the  two  tribes  and  a  half  were  about  to 
return  to  their  settlement,  east  of  Jordan,  at  the  close 
of  the  war,  their   venerable   commander  dismissed. 


336  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 


them  Avith  his  blessing,  and  charged  them  as  a  father 
would  his  children;  "Take  diligent  heed,"  said  iie, 
"  to  do  the  commandment  and  the  law,  which  Moses 
the  servant  of  the  Lord  charged  you,  to  love  the 
Lord  your  God,  and  to  walk  in  all  his  ways,  and  to 
keep  his  commandments,  and  to  cleave  unto  him,  and 
to  serve  him  whh  all  your  heart,  and  with  all  your 
soul:'^  (xxii.  5.)  It  is  not  common  to  hear  such  advice 
as  this  from  the  lips  of  conquerors.  Most  men,  who 
have  distinguished  themselves  by  their  bravery  and 
skill  in  military  operations,  are  extremely  fond  of 
flattering  attentions  and  honours  from  their  country- 
men; and  seldom  think  of  referring  their  achievements 
to  the  providence  of  God,  or  of  recommending  a  re- 
gard to  the  divine  commands,  as  a  means  of  improv- 
ing the  advantages  which  may  have  been  gained 
over  the  enemies  of  their  country.  Here,  then,  is  an 
example  worthy  the  imitation  of  warriors  and  states- 
men. Joshua  was  honoured  in  being  designated  the 
successor  of  Moses;  and  he  was,  afterwards,  highly 
honoured  of  God,  in  the  eyes  of  the  people;  inso- 
much that  they  placed  unbounded  confidence  in  his 
judgment,  and  yielded  prompt  obedience  to  his  orders. 
Yet  we  find  him,  in  the  height  of  power,  modest, 
humble,  unassuming; — indifferent  to  the  applauses 
of  men,  and  mainly  anxious  to  engage  his  subjects  in 
a  course  of  holy  obedience  to  the  statutes  and  ordi- 
nances of  the  Lord,  their  Redeemer.  Bearing  in 
mind  the  responsibilities  of  his  office,  he  never  seems 
to  have  considered  himself  exempt  from  the  obliga- 
tions of  religion  by  his  extensive  and  burdensome 
secular  duties.  While  performing,  with  activity  and 
zeal,  the  services  due  to  the  commonwealth  of  Israel, 
he  was  mindful  of  his  latter  end,  and  could  command 
time  enough  to  attend  on  the  services  of  the  sanc- 
tuary. Nor  was  he  inattentive  to  the  more  private 
duties  of  religion.  His  piety  appeared,  in  his  inter- 
course with  his  family  and  friends;  "As  for  me  and 
my  house,'^  said  he,  "we  will  serve  the  Lord."  Thus 
we  see,  he  bore  prosperity  with  meekness,  and  mani- 
fested a  becoming  sense  of  dependence  on  the  provi- 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  337 

dence  and  grace  of  God,  amidst  all  the  honours  that 
were  conferred  upon  him,  by  a  grateful  and  devoted 
people.  It  is  remarkable,  that  he  evinced  as  much 
inditierence  to  worldly  wealth,  as  to  the  honour  which 
Cometh  from  man.  His  family  seem  not  to  have  been 
distinguished,  in  this  respect,  from  the  other  families 
of  the  tribe  to  which  they  belonged:  and  although 
he  appears  to  have  retired,  in  a  great  measure,  from 
public  duty,  some  time  before  his  deatli,  yet  we  hear 
nothing  of  any  provision  being  made  for  his  living  in 
affluence  and  splendour.  It  is  only  remarked,  (chap. 
xix.  49,  50,)  that,  "  when  they  had  made  an  end  of 
dividing  the  land  for  inheritance  by  their  coasts,  the 
children  of  Israel  gave  an  inheritance  to  Joshua,  the 
son  of  Nun,  anions:  them;  according  to  the  word  of 
the  Lord,  they  gave  him  the  city  which  he  asked, 
even  Timnath-serah,  in  Mount  Ephraim:  and  he  built 
the  city,  and  dwelt  there.'^  What  a  noble  example 
of  moderation,  in  one  who  had  so  much  in  his  power  ! 
And  how  admirable  the  influence  of  true  religion,  in 
rendering  an  individual  a  blessing  to  his  generation, 
and  at  the  same  time,  a  model  of  meekness,  and 
superiority  to  selfish  and  sinister  ends!  Happy  would 
it  be  for  the  world,  if  more  of  such  characters  occu- 
pied the  high  places  of  power  and  influence  among 
mankind  !     Let  us  observe 

2.  The  spirit  with  which  this  good  man  closed  the 
duties  of  his  high  and  responsible  station. — Here  we 
have  only  to  peruse,  attentively,  the  last  two  chapters 
of  the  book  which  bears  his  name;  where  his  zeal  for 
the  glory  of  God,  and  the  good  of  the  people,  is  dis- 
closed in  a  manner  which  clearly  indicates  its  genuine- 
ness and  ardour.  Twice  he  assembled  the  tribes,  at 
Shechem,  near  the  place  of  his  residence,  and  taught 
them  not  only  as  one  having  authority,  but  as  one 
who  cared  for  them,  as  a  father  abotit  to  die  cares  for 
liis  children.  He  reminds  them  of  the  marvellous 
things  which  God  had  done  for  them;  and  of  his  high 
and  riglitful  claims  to  their  undivided  and  unwaver- 
ing obedience  and  trust.  He  recounts  the  iiistory  of 
the  nation,  as  far  back  as  the  calling  of  Abraham, 
29 


338  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

who   had   been   selected  by  a  gracious  Providence, 
from   among   an    idolatrous   people,   and   made   the 
honoured  depository  of  revealed  truth,  the  nucleus  of 
the  visible  church,  and  the  father  of  a  numerous  and 
favoured  race.     He  appeals  to  them,  as  witnesses  to 
the  divine  faithfulness,  in  fulfilling  the  promises  made 
to  their  fathers.     '^Behold,"  says  he,  "this  day  I  am 
going  the  way  of  all  the  earth;  and  ye  know,  in  all 
3^our  hearts,  and  in  all  your  souls,  that  710 1  one  thing 
hath  failed  of  all  the  good  things  ivhich  the  Lord 
your  God  spake  concerning  you.^^   They  are  assured, 
also,  that  God  will  not  fail  to  execute  his  threatenings 
upon  them,  if  they  disregard  his  commands,  and  imi- 
tate  the  manners  of  the  wicked: — "When  ye  shall 
have  transgressed  the  covenant  of  the  Lord  your  God, 
which  he  commanded  you,  and  have  gone  and  served 
other  gods,  and  bowed  yourselves  to  them,  then  shall 
the  anger  of  the  Lord  be  kindled  against  you,  and  ye 
shall  perish  quickly  from  off  the  good  land  which  he 
hath  given  unto  you."     To  these  solemn  warnings, 
he  adds  this  earnest  and  pressing  exhortation:  "  Now, 
therefore,  fear  the  Lord  and  serve  him  in  sincerity 
and  in  truth;  and  put   away  the  gods  which  your 
fathers  served  on  the  other  side  of  the  flood,  and  in 
Egypt,  and  serve  ye  the  Lord."     And,  not  content 
with  general  instructions,  he  labours  to  bring  them  to 
an  open  and  decided  avowal  of  their  purpose  to  re- 
nounce their  refuges  of  lies,  and  devote  themselves  to 
the  service  of  the  living  God: — "  Choose  ye,  this  day, 
whom  ye  will  serve."     Not  that  he  would  have  them 
enter  into  covenant  with  the  Most  High,  in  a  rash,  or 
inconsiderate  manner;  for,  he  reminds  them,  that  Je- 
hovah is  a  holy,  and  a  jealous  God,  and  that  he  will 
not  tolerate  transgression:  but,  aware  of  the  danger 
of  hesitancy  and  delay,  in  so  plain  a  case,  he  endea- 
vours to  persuade  them  to  choose,  upon  due  consider- 
ation of  motives  and  consequences,  the  good  and  the 
right   way.     His  own  mind  was  made  up — he  was 
going  the  way  of  all  the  earth — he  was  just  taking 
leave  of  them,  and  entering  the  eternal  world,  trust- 
ing in  God,  the  Saviour;  and  it  was  his  heart's  desire, 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  339 

that  tlicy  should  exercise  a  similar  confidence,  so  that 
he  might  hope  to  meet  them  in  heaven,  and  there  join 
them  in  the  triumphs  of  redeeming  grace.  These 
faithful  endeavours  were  not  in  vain.  The  people, 
unable  to  gainsay  tlie  truth,  and  moved  by  the  en- 
treaties of  their  venerable  leader,  whose  affection  for 
them  they  could  not  doubt,  "said  unto  Joshua,  The 
Lord  our  God  will  we  serve,  and  his  voice  will  we 
obey.''  With  the  view  of  ratifying  this  engagement, 
so  that  it  might  not  be  soon  forgotten,  Josliua,  after 
recording  the  transaction  in  the  book  of  the  law  of 
God,  erected  a  monument  of  stone,  near  the  sanc- 
tuary, and  said,  "Behold, this  stone  shall  be  a  witness 
unto  us;  for  it  hath  lieard  all  the  words  of  the  Lord 
which  he  spake  unto  us:  it  shall  be,  therefore,  a  wit- 
ness unto  you,  lest  ye  deny  your  God;  so  Joshua  let 
the  people  depart,  every  man  unto  his  inheritance." 
This  was  a  solemn  meeting; — perhaps  it  was  the 
most  useful  one  that  Joshua  had  ever  held  with  the 
congregated  tribes  of  Israel.  The  people  may  not 
have  been  all  sincere,  in  the  engagement;  but  the 
purpose  formed  and  ratified  was  good;  and  the  man 
of  God  could  now  resign  his  charge,  and  go  to  his 
eternal  rest,  conscious  that  he  had  spared  no  pains  to 
secure  their  immortal  interests. 

We  see,  in  this  piece  of  sacred  history,  how  natural 
and  befitting  it  is,  that  a  Christian  minister  should 
greatly  desire  to  see  his  hearers  entering  into  covenant 
with  God,  and  abounding  in  every  good  word  and 
work.  The  sacraments  of  the  New  Testament  are 
witnesses  for  Christ;  and,  to  those  who  receive  them 
in  the  faith  of  the  gospel,  they  are  helpful  and  liallow- 
ed  remembrancers.  They  exhibit,  in  a  symbolical 
form,  the  truth  and  grace  of  our  God,  and  remind  us, 
that,  as  Christians,  we  are  not  our  own,  but  his  who 
loved  us,  and  bought  us  with  his  precious  blood. 
These  sacred  institutions  are  not  only  badges  of  dis- 
tinction, but  appointed  means  of  confirming  the  faith 
and  animating  the  hope  of  the  believer.  They  cannot 
be  neglected  without  dishonouring  Christ,  and  wrong- 
ing our  own  souls;  and  the  due  observance  of  tliem 


340  LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY. 

has,  from  the  first  introduction  of  the  Christian  dispen- 
sation, been  regarded  as  evidence  of  the  progress  of 
the  gospel,  and  of  the  renovating  power  attendant  on 
its  faithful  administration.  Let  all,  therefore,  who 
Jiave  the  opportunity,  and  who  purpose  in  their  hearts 
to  serve  the  Lord,  and  to  obey  his  voice,  ratify  and 
seal  their  good  intentions  by  a  serious  and  reverential 
participation  of  these  divine  ordinances. 

Concerning  the  death  and  burial  of  Joshua,  we  are 
not  gratified  with  any  particulars.  Tlie  inspired  writer 
who  penned  the  last  paragraph  of  his  instructive 
biography,  mentions  his  exit  and  interment  without 
any  eiibrt,  or  note  of  admiration: — ^'And  it  came  to 
pass,  after  these  things,  that  Joshua,  the  son  of  Nun, 
the  servant  of  the  Lord,  died,  being  an  hundred  and 
ten  years  old;  and  they  buried  him  in  the  border  of 
his  inheritance,  in  Timnath-serah,  which  is  in  mount 
Ephraim." — "Precious,  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord,  is  the 
death  of  his  saints!"  As  this  sainted  servant  of  God 
had  spent  a  long  and  active  life  of  usefulness,  we  may 
presume  his  departure  out  of  this  world  was  peaceful 
and  blessed:  and  the  simple, unostentatious  manner  in 
which  his  mortal  remains  seem  to  have  been  disposed 
of,  accorded  well  with  the  meek  and  unaspiring  spirit 
which  he  uniformly  manifested  during  tlie  whole 
course  of  his  benign  and  laborious  administration. 

3.  Li  regard  to  the  influence  which  the  instructions 
and.  example  of  Joshua  had  upon  the  commonwealth 
of  Israel  in  his  lifetime,  and  for  some  time  after  his 
decease,  we  shall  not  enlarge.  That  it  was  salutary, 
and  of  some  considerable  duration,  is  plainly  indi- 
cated in  a  single  sentence  of  the  sacred  historian: 
"And  Israel  served  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  Joshua, 
and  all  the  days  of  the  elders  that  overlived  Joshua, 
and  who  had  known  all  the  works  of  the  Lord,  that 
he  had  done  for  Israel."  The  conduct  of  the  Israel- 
ites was  at  no  period  of  their  history  so  holy  and  un- 
blameable  as  might  have  been  expected,  considering 
the  peculiar  advantages  which  they  enjoyed;  but,  for 
the  first  half  century  after  their  entrance  into  Canaan, 
they  seem  to  have  paid  more  than  usual  attention  to 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORT.  341 

the  divine  commands,  and  to  have  abstained  iu  a 
great  measure  from  idolatry,  and  other  gross  abomi- 
nations. Several  causes  may  have  concurred,  under 
Providence,  in  producing  this  temporary  reformation; 
but  we  are  warranted,  by  the  passage  of  Scripture 
j\ist  cited,  as  well  as  by  observation  and  experience, 
to  ascribe  it,  in  part,  to  the  influence  of  Joshua's 
iioly  example  and  faithful  admonitions.  The  man- 
ners and  habits  of  mankind  are  very  much  iiitluenced 
by  example;  and  the  instructions  of  wisdom  from 
those  whose  lives  are  comments  upon  the  doctrines 
they  teach,  are  seldom,  if  ever,  without  effect.  It  is 
reasonable,  therefore,  to  suppose,  that  the  upright 
administration, — the  pious  deportment, — the  solemn 
warnings,  and  earnest  entreaties  of  the  venerable 
leader  of  Israel,  had  contributed  largely  to  elevate 
the  tone  of  public  manners,  and  secure  attention  to 
the  laws  and  ordinances  of  God.  "  The  memory  of 
.the  just  is  blessed.^'  Their  record  is  on  high;  and, 
being  dead,  they  still  speak  to  survivors,  and  call 
upon  them  to  seek  after  glory,  honour,  and  immor- 
tality. 

4.  Several  practical  lessons  may  be  deduced  from 
this  piece  of  sacred  history.     As, 

(1.)  We  see  the  importance  oi  piety  in  those  who 
occupy  stations  of  eminence  among  mankind.  A 
man's  influence  depends  very  much  on  the  situation 
in  which  he  is  placed.  In  private  life,  it  is  neces- 
sarily limited;  in  public,  it  is  more  extended:  though 
every  man  exerts  an  influence,  either  for,  or  against 
religion  and  morality,  proportionate  to  the  circle  of  his 
acquaintance.  A  warrior,  a  statesman,  or  a  civil  ma- 
gistrate is  known  through  the  medium  of  the  press; 
and  his  acts  are  frequently,  and  among  all  classes  in 
society,  the  subject  of  remark  and  imitation.  How 
desirable  it  is,  that  the  character  and  conduct  of  such 
men  should  always  be,  as  becometh  the  gospel  of  God ! 

(2.)  In  Joshua's  closing  counsels  to  the  people  of 
Israel,  we  see  what  importance  he  attached  to  deci- 
sion, in  the  weighty  concerns  of  religion.  "  Choose 
ye,  this  clay,  whom  you  will  serve." 


342  LECTURES    OX    BIBLICAL  HISTORY. 

Ill  concluding  these  lectures,  in  which  the  benefit 
of  young  people  has  been  kept  steadily  in  view,  the 
writer  begs  leave  to  make  an  affectionate  appeal  to 
the  children  and  youth  of  the  church,  on  the  danger 
of  neglecting  the  doctrines  and  duties  of  religion  in 
early  life. 

Dear  young  Friends  :  Your  position  is  one  of  in- 
tense interest.  You  are,  many  of  you,  balancing  be- 
tween lite  and  death.  If  you  have  been  dedicated  to 
God,  by  parental  solicitude  for  your  souls,  that  act, 
unless  ratified  by  your  own  deliberate  and  cordial 
surrender  of  yourselves  to  the  Saviour,  will  not,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  secure  your  salvation ;  and  if  the 
seal  of  God's  covenant  with  his  church  has  not  been 
impressed  upon  you,  then,  the  world,  which  lies  in 
sin,  claims  you  for  its  own,  and  will  spare  no  pains 
to  detain  you  in  its  ranks,  and  amuse  you  with  its 
transient  and  unsubstantial  pleasures.  So  that,  until 
you  give  your  hearts  to  God,  the  Saviour,  you  are  in, 
jeopardy  every  moment.  You  cannot  remain  long  in 
this  wavering  and  undecided  state.  If  you  decline 
choosing  whom  you  will  serve,  and  wait,  like  Felix, 
for  a  more  convenient  season,  in  defiance  of  God's 
assurance,  that  "now  is  the  accepted  time  and  day 
of  salvation,"  your  habit  of  negligence  may  become 
as  fixed  and  immovable  as  the  leopard's  spots;  or 
the  angel  of  death  may,  in  an  unexpected  hour,  set 
his  seal  upon  your  character  and  destiny  for  eternity, 
while  you  are  yet  in  your  sins.  A  more  convenient 
season  than  the  present,  for  making  your  peace  with 
God,  by  embracing  the  Saviour,  you  will  never  find. 
Procrastination  is  a  concealed  rock,  on  which  many  a 
baptized  and  amiable  youth  has  been  wrecked  and 
ruined  forever.  "  Seek  the  Lord,  while  he  may  be 
found;  call  upon  him  while  he  is  near."  *•  What 
is  your  life?"  What  the  longest  life?  "A  vapour, 
that  appeareth  for  a  little  while,  and  then  vanisheth 
away!"  And  yet  your  day  of  grace  may  end  be- 
fore you  die.  You  may  grieve  away  the  life-giving 
Spirit,  without  whose  sacred  influence  you  will  nei- 
ther repent,  nor  believe  the  gospel.     Esau,  who  sold 


LECTURES    ON    BIBLICAL    HISTORY.  343 

his  birth-right,  and  afterwards  desired  a  fatlier's  bless- 
ing,"  found  no  place  for  Yc\ieu[ancc,  i ho us^/i  he  sought 
it  earnestly  ivilh  tears.^^  Of  Ephraim,  it  was  said, 
"he  is  joined  to  his  idols;  let  him  alone/'  Jeru- 
salem neglected  the  day  of  gracious  visitation,  and, 
therefore,  "the  things  that  belonged  to  her  peace 
were  hidden  from  her  eyes."  These  are  fearful 
warnings ;  but  they  are  published  in  love.  God 
waits  to  be  gracious.  Flee,  then,  beloved  youth, 
from  the  wrath  to  come.  You  act  unwisely,  nay, 
wickedly,  to  remain  undecided  in  so  plain  a  case. 
Why  will  ye  die?  Life  and  death  are  set  before 
you.  "They  that  seek  me  early,''  says  incarnate 
Wisdom,  "shall  find  me."  But  you  miist  seek  him. 
The  Saviour  knocks  at  the  door;  but  will  uoi  force 
it  open.  ^'To-day,  if  you  will  hear  his  voice,  harden 
not  your  hearts."  Take  notice;  the  emphasis,  here, 
is  on  the  word,  to-day.  So  in  Joshua,  "  Choose  ye, 
this  day.""^  Your  friendly  monitor  cannot  be  put  off 
with  a  "go  thy  way  for  this  time."  This  may  be 
your  only  time.  Your  condition  is  too  perilous  to 
admit  of  delay.  Ponder  it,  we  earnestly  beseech  you, 
as  it  is  forcibly  described  by  the  pious  poet: 

"  Lol  on  a  narrow  neck  of  land, 
'Twixt  two  unbounded  seas  I  stand, 

Yet,  how  insensible! 
A  point  of  time,  a  moment's  space, 
Removes  me  to  yon  licavenly  place, 

Or  shuts  me  up  in  liell. 

O  God,  my  inmost  soul  convert, 
And  deeply  on  my  thoughtless  heart, 

Eternal  thing-s  impress; 
Give  me  to  feel  their  solemn  weight, 
And  save  me  ere  it  be  too  late; 

Wake  me  to  riirhteousness." 


THE    END. 


^ 


BS1197.1.^^1 

Lectures  on  Biblical  history 

n;;i'^'r.I^^°l?9'^f"Sem,nary-SpeerL,brary 


1    1012  00050   1355 


